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A Happy New Year to our member organisations and contacts, and welcome to the first Hart Matters news bulletin of 2026. Please do get in contact with Caroline Winchurch if you would like to feature your news and events information in the next issue, which will go out in early February. We hope you enjoy this issue.

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Welcome to our newest member organisation, the Hook-based charity, Victoria's Promise. Victoria's Promise supports young women, and their families, through cancer and beyond. They offer in-person support and services to young women (aged between 25 years and 50 years) who have been diagnosed with cancer, and/or treated for cancer at North Hampshire Hospital, the Royal County Hospital Winchester or Frimley Park Hospital. Their services are tailored to ease the needs, as best they can, for each young woman and her family. For details about their in-person support services and their nationwide service through the Victoria's Promise app, please visit their website and social media pages.

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Household Support Fund - Community Grants via Local Children's Partnerships in Hampshire

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Household Support Fund - Community Grants via Local Children's Partnerships in Hampshire

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As Co-Chairs of the Hart & Rushmoor Local Children’s Partnership (LCP), Caroline Winchurch of Hart Voluntary Action, and Tony McGovern of Rushmoor Borough Council are pleased to share this latest Household Support Fund (HSF) Community Grant round information, designed to help families vulnerable to financial hardship. This particular round is being managed via the county’s LCPs, with a focus on projects supporting children and families. There is a quick turnaround for this round, the last date for applications is Friday 23rd January. Funding can be for new or existing projects, but the grant needs to be spent by 30th June 2026.

Household Support Fund

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a government initiative aimed at providing crisis support to vulnerable households struggling with essential living costs or offering preventative measures to help households avoid falling into financial hardship.

Following a review of current expenditure, Hampshire County Council has identified a new ring-fenced budget, of £150,000, to support the work of Local Children's Partnerships (LCPs) to collaborate with and support organisations within their networks to apply for funding. There is no fixed allocation per district; all applications will be assessed collectively against the total funding pot. This funding is intended to benefit households struggling to afford food, fuel and other essential items linked to these. It can also be used to prevent poverty locally and build local resilience.

Application deadline for organisations to submit to LCPs: 23 January 2026. Hart & Rushmoor applications to be sent to Caroline Winchurch, Chief Executive at Hart Voluntary Action, at ceo@hartvolaction.org.uk

All funding must be spent by the end of June 2026

Applications should focus on initiatives that directly support vulnerable households, including but not limited to:

Essential Household Support – Energy and water bills, food vouchers, warm clothing, blankets, boiler repairs.

White Goods and Hygiene Products – Purchase of fridges, freezers, ovens, and essential hygiene items.

Community and Preventative Support – Activities such as cookery classes and projects aimed at preventing crisis situations.

Advice Services – Debt management, budgeting, and income maximization services delivered by FCA-regulated professionals.

Local Initiatives – Projects tailored to meet the needs of vulnerable households within local communities.

Note: While the funding primarily targets households with children, all household types are eligible for support.

Advice Service Grants: Up to £5,000

Other Grants: Typically range from £2,000 to £15,000, depending on the scale and number of households supported.

If clarification is required prior to submission of application to HCC please contact the HSF team via email on connect4communities@hants.gov.uk and copy in James Atkins, Project Manager at james.atkins@hants.gov.uk

Link to further detail about the Household Support Fund here

Link to application form here

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Get Involved Volunteer Fair 2026 - Exhibitor Booking Open

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Get Involved Volunteer Fair 2026 - Exhibitor Booking Open

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The Hart Volunteer Centre is getting together with the Lions Club of Fleet to run our annual Get Involved Volunteer Fair. This year we will be in Hart Shopping Centre, Fleet on Saturday 7 March. If your organisation would like to have an information display to recruit new volunteers, please follow this link to book a place. If you are not currently promoting a volunteer role through us, then we would ask that you register your volunteering opportunity or opportunities in order to secure your place at the Get Involved Fair as well. If you have any questions do get in touch.

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Meet the funder: easyfundraising, your easy route to unrestricted funding

Looking for a simple way to bring in extra funds for your community group? Come along to this free online session and find out how you can unlock unrestricted funding through easyfundraising – just by encouraging your supporters to shop online!

Becky Coleman from easyfundraising will show you how your members, volunteers, and wider community can raise free donations for your group every time they shop online with leading retailers including Tesco, John Lewis, Trainline, Booking.com, Sainsburys, Argos and thousand more.

Who should attend?  anyone involved in fundraising for good causes of all shapes and sizes including voluntary groups, CICs, social enterprises, churches, schools, sports clubs and charities. It will be a friendly informal session and is open to any member of your team.

Date: 21st January 2026 - Time: 12.30-13.00

Reserve your spot here:

You can set up a free easyfundraising account for your good cause before the session here: www.easyfundraising.org.uk/community

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Alzheimer Cafe - Farnborough Branch  - 16 January meeting

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Alzheimer Cafe - Farnborough Branch  - 16 January meeting

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The topic for the next Alzheimer Cafe Farnborough Branch meeting on 16 January is "The Range of Human Emotions". More details about the Alzheimer Cafe charity at this link.

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Free First Aid Training for Volunteers with Hampshire Libraries

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Free First Aid Training for Volunteers with Hampshire Libraries

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The next Emergency First Aid Training for Volunteers at Fleet Library is on Friday 27 March 9.45-16.45.

Tutor: Paul Pritchard

Cost: Free (Certification and course book available at a cost of £25)

Length of Course: 7 Hours Group size: 6 - 12

Course participants: Adults aged 19+ who are Hampshire residents and volunteering/working for a Hampshire community organisation

Aims of the Course: The course will equip the first aider with skills to be able to confidently undertake emergency first aid if

someone becomes ill or injured at home/community setting. The course consists of 6 hours of instructor led tuition with the

emphasis on practical application of first aid skills. This is a practical course which is interactive and fun. A fully accredited OFQUAL certificate and course book can be issued by the tutor on the day of the course if required. The fee of £25 is payable directly to the tutor.

Learning Goals:

To identify and explain how to carry out at least 3 first aid procedures in order to preserve a life, prevent the situation worsening and promote recovery.

To be able to perform and demonstrate a primary survey using DRSABCD when attending to a casualty.

To demonstrate and perform safe and effective bleeding control when attending to a bleeding casualty.

To explain how to prioritise treatment whilst minimizing risks to yourself and others.

Booking link here - please advise your volunteers that they will receive joining instructions a week before the course starts, so they should ensure they have booked out this day in their calendars to avoid no-shows.

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Unloc health & wellbeing grants for activity led by young people in Hampshire & IOW

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Unloc health & wellbeing grants for activity led by young people in Hampshire & IOW

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Aged 13-21 and living in Hampshire? Are you passionate about health & wellbeing? Want £500 to spend on a project to help improve health and wellbeing in your community? Hampshire and IOW Healthcare NHS Trust are looking for passionate young people with an idea to help improve health & wellbeing experiences for people in Hampshire. Apply now for £500 grant money to help make your idea a reality & receive support from Unloc to make it happen. The funding is also available for groups of young people – so if you think a group you’re part of (whether it’s a youth group, club, society, student union, school council etc) would benefit from the funding please get in touch to discuss. Still got questions? Contact Larissa at Larissa@unloc.org.uk

More detail and application form at this link. Deadline 30 January.

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Thank you to the Farnborough & District branch of Parkinson's UK for their positive feedback about receiving a small grant of £400 to engage their service users in giving feedback on health and social care services in Hampshire. If your group could engage with at least 15 members/clients to help gather and amplify local voices to shape health and social care services in Hampshire, then do take a look at this weblink.

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Directory for Social Change (DSC) has 4 different grant databases - BVA can help you do grant searches across all 4 databases

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Funding Finder Service - Basingstoke Voluntary Action

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Funding Finder Service - Basingstoke Voluntary Action

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Thanks to ongoing funding from Hampshire County Council, the team at Basingstoke Voluntary Action (BVA) can assist you with a bespoke grant search using the DSC Grants Online resource. This service is open to Hampshire voluntary and community organisations only. To find out more please contact contact@bvaction.org.uk You can also subscribe to the monthly Funding Newsletter from BVA - please go to this link and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

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Schools, charities and not-for-profit organisations supporting children and young people are invited to apply for up to £1,500 for causes that improve access to healthy, nutritious food. From enhancing school provision to supporting local community services, Tesco Stronger Starts welcome applications that use healthy food that supports the physical and mental health of children and young people across the UK. This could include:

Running a breakfast club at school

Providing meals during school holidays

Teaching children how to cook

Food growing projects in allotments, planters or a community garden

Buying healthy snacks for sports clubs or youth groups

The Tesco Stronger Starts Grants is managed by the Groundwork charity. More information at this link.

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Grassroots Grants, which is managed by the Groundwork charity, provides unrestricted grants of up to £2,000 for small, local organisations in England that are making a positive impact in their communities. Building on the success of previous funding rounds, the programme will run from January to September 2026 providing more opportunities for organisations with an annual income of no more than £25,000, to apply. Priority will be given to organisations that support communities that fall within the top 15% of the English Indices of Deprivation and those that work with and support communities that are marginalised or vulnerable. More detail at this link.

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Kew Gardens - Grow Wild Community Programme: Grants of up to £2,000 are available to charities, community groups, and other not-for-profit organisations in the UK that aim to bring local people together to transform urban spaces by sowing and growing UK native wildflowers and/or fungi. The Grow Wild Community Programme will support 23 community-led projects that benefit both wildlife and people, with a particular focus on engaging young people, disabled people, those experiencing disadvantage, and others who face barriers to connecting with nature. Funding can cover costs such as seeds, plants, soil, tools, materials, events, workshops, specialist expertise, and staff time. Successful groups can also apply for a £500 follow-on grant for spring 2027 to support ongoing activities. Applications close at 3pm on the 4th February 2026.

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Grants of up to £10,000 are available for projects that focus on building financial resilience and capability skills. The charity has retained its interest in applications which use memorable, innovative and or creative ways of delivering financial capability and life skills which will make a lasting impact on the way people think, behave and manage their money. The next funding round opens on 19 January. More details about the MSE charity at this link.

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Ocean Stars Trust Quiz Evening - 24 January

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Ocean Stars Trust Quiz Evening - 24 January

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Hurry to purchase your Ocean Stars Quiz evening tickets - a sell-out event hosted by Mike Gardner. Please email oceanstarstrust@gmail.com to reserve your table. Fundraising is one of the main income streams for the work of Ocean Stars Trust. Their first main fundraising event for 2026 is our annual quiz on Saturday 24th January at the Key Centre Elvetham Heath 7.45 pm. They look forward to seeing you there! For details about the work of Oceans Stars Trust in Sri Lanka please go to this link.

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Charity Bridge Tea  Fundraiser on behalf of the Victoria Hall Charity - 26 January

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Charity Bridge Tea  Fundraiser on behalf of the Victoria Hall Charity - 26 January

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Charity Bridge Tea Event at Victoria Hall, Hartley Wintney - 26 January - 13.30-17.00. £60 for 4 people. Enjoy an engaging Static Table session with friends from 13:30 to 16:00, followed by a delicious Afternoon Tea featuring cakes, coffee, and treats.  Enter a table to play just for fun, or add a bit of competition by using Chicago scoring. Prizes will be awarded for the Best Slam on the Fun Tables and best individual Chicago scores. More detail at this link.

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UCAS has launched a new online tool that pulls together nearly 800 scholarships, bursaries and grants all in one place on the UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) website for the first time, after its research found that low awareness of funding opportunities may be adding to financial uncertainty for prospective students. The tool enables applicants to easily check what is on offer at universities and colleges across the country. Awards can range from £500 to full tuition fees for both UK and international applicants, and can also cover the cost of accommodation, meals and travel. Students can also use the tool to search for awards matched to their background, achievements or chosen course. Teachers and advisers can use the tool to find funding options tailored to their students’ needs.

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Action Hampshire - Communities Against Cancer

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Action Hampshire - Communities Against Cancer

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Communities Against Cancer is a cancer awareness project funded by Wessex Cancer Alliance to help improve early diagnosis by raising awareness of cancer in the community.

Join a workshop!
Learn more about cancer prevention, signs and symptoms, where to go if you're worried, and the grants on offer. Join Action Hampshire on one of the following dates:

Wednesday, 28 January, 11:00 - 12:30
Thursday, 26 February, 11:30 - 13:00
Monday, 16 March, 14:00 - 14:30
Tuesday, 14 April, 14:00 - 15:30
Grants available!
Eligible organisations will receive a grant of up to £2500 to raise awareness of cancer in their community. Grants are available throughout Dorset, Hampshire and IOW.

Workshop booking link here

More detail about the Communities Against Cancer project here.

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Hart Voluntary Action has joined easyfundraising

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Hart Voluntary Action has joined easyfundraising

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Hart Voluntary Action has joined the Easy Fundraising donations platform. If you would like to support us by linking your online retail shopping to donations for us, then do select our charity as your chosen good cause (no extra cost to you). Thank you. To get started, please use this link. Of course, there are lots of other local community organisations and charities in Hart also looking for your support! See also information about an easyfundraising webinar for community groups/charities under the Fundraising Update #1 section.

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Charities and organisations that support soldiers, veterans, and their immediate families can apply for grants from the Army Benelevont Fund. Various projects and activities can be funded, including mental health support, educational programmes and employment assistance, family support, housing assistance, independent living, and elderly care. This might include helping wounded soldiers to adapt to life after service, assisting elderly veterans to keep their independence, or supporting soldiers to embark on new careers. Up to 100 charities are usually funded annually, with grant amounts varying depending on the proposed project or activity. Where an application is made from an organisation with which the fund has no established relationship, any award will likely be below £20,000. The next closing date is 20th January 2026, with 2 more deadlines to follow this year. More detail here.

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RHL Health Circuit Classes for adults with long-term health conditions

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RHL Health Circuit Classes for adults with long-term health conditions

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Are you living with a long term health condition?

Come along to one of RHL's fun and friendly Health Circuits workout sessions in Hart or Rushmoor. These sessions are low impact classes in the style of a circuit and are ideal for improving your general health and fitness. Health circuits are particularly suitable for those with pulmonary, cardiac or other long term health conditions. Call 01252 957430 or email classes@rhl.org.uk to book your FREE trial session.

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Starburst Theatre - Auditions for "Everyone's Talking About Jamie" - 8 February

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Starburst Theatre - Auditions for "Everyone's Talking About Jamie" - 8 February

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Announcing Starburst's next musical, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. The show will be performed at Camberley Theatre, 25th-27th June 2026. Have you got the dreams, the style and the moves to make them smile? Auditions will be held at Starburst Studios in Yateley on 8th February 2026 for those aged 14+. Pre-register for auditions now: sbst.uk/pre-reg

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Fleet Phoenix are holding their Charity Quiz at the Alento Lounge in Fleet on 2 March. Contact Charlotte Tickner to book your place.

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Silent Disco - Crondall Village Hall - 7 March

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Silent Disco - Crondall Village Hall - 7 March

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Crondall Village Hall are holding a Silent Disco on Saturday 7 March to help raise funds for the Hall's upkeep.

Family session 17.30-19.00

Adults session 19.30-20.30

Booking link here.

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Screenshot 2026-01-11 at 12-55-15 Upcoming Events CrondallVillageHall