Posted on 07 March 2025
To celebrate its 40th birthday last year, Hyde Charitable Trust (HCT) launched its unique Surprise Fund
The fund was launched so that our community partners could take part in the 40th birthday celebrations. We know that finding funds for additional celebrations is tough for our partners, so we wanted to give them (their staff, volunteers and participants) a ‘surprise’ to say thank you for everything they do for our communities. The surprise could be anything from a social event to a team building day, as many organisations don’t have the budget for social events or away days.
The response from community partners was overwhelmingly positive. And, from what they told us in their applications, this funding was very much needed:
“The staff are feeling exhausted and a special staff day out will make all the difference to their morale and wellbeing.”
“…often we are passing ships when at work and don't have time to talk, laugh or get to know each other.”
We aimed to give away £40,000 (it was our 40th birthday after all), with a maximum donation of £1,000. We offered the donation to the organisations we fund, but we also asked colleagues to get involved and nominate some of the brilliant community partners they are working with too. Altogether we made 43 awards.
One year on, find out more about some of our partners who received funding, and how they celebrated throughout the year.
UKHarvest
UKHarvest works across West Sussex, and many of their food hubs are in our communities. With a full schedule of events, being able to spend time together as a team was an unexpected surprise and meant a great deal.
Ffion Hayward, Nourish Hub Manager said: "Thank you HCT for providing an opportunity for our team to go out for the evening together, for a meal and a drink. This has never happened before and meant employees who would not usually join us were able to do so."
My Sisters’ House
My Sisters’ House is based in Bognor Regis and Chichester and provides support and services specifically for women – including women who are victims and survivors of domestic abuse. The team told us:
“We were overjoyed to have been given the opportunity to visit Goodwood House for an 'afternoon tea and tour' treat, it was a wonderful experience. The 'Her Story: Women of Goodwood' exhibition was so well received and seemed fitting given the nature of our work - services for women, by women. To top it all off, we had the most delicious and beautifully presented afternoon tea in the ballroom. Everyone commented on the quality of the savoury and sweet selections - all washed down with freshly made tea. Quintessentially British! Thank you so much.”
Jason Roberts Foundation
The Jason Roberts Foundation (JRF) manages the Bridgestone Arena, right next to the Hillside Estate in Brent. They work across the community to promote healthy, active lifestyles through sports participation - ensuring sports provision is accessible to all. They used the money towards a ‘Surprise Fun Day’. They tell us more:
“Over 500 residents of all ages attended our surprise ‘Community First’ fun day where JRF Founder, Jason Roberts MBE, attended as a special guest. The local community enjoyed a day of sport including tennis, table tennis, and walking football. There were also family activities including a bouncy castle, music, and refreshments, as well as heath checks, nutrition advice, and fitness assessments undertaken by Nuffield Health.”
Some of the young volunteers and youth coaches organised a football tournament for 16 – 18-year-olds. Jason said, “This is how I learnt to play football thanks to the support of local organisations, so thank you very much.”
Brighton Table Tennis Club
Brighton Table Tennis Club used their Surprise funding towards a celebration to send Bly Twomey and Will Bayley to the Paris Paralympics. They said:
“We held a celebration to send Bly and Will off to the Paralympics, to show them our support and share our excitement with the whole community.
“The celebration was packed. There were staff, coaches, players and children and families from across the community. Everyone was delighted to be able to sing the song of support that one of our coaches had written for the occasion. There was table tennis, pizza and refreshments and we shared a film we had made that had good luck messages from over 50 people to Bly and Will. People told me that they had had a great time, and it felt very special to them to be able to show their support.
“A group of 150 people from the club and community were in Paris to support Will and Bly, but there were many more at the party who were not able to go, but who got the opportunity to cheer Will and Bly on.”
Sydenham Garden
Sydenham Garden is a community garden with the aim of promoting the physical and mental wellbeing of residents living in South London. They were delighted to receive their funding and used it to go out for a special meal together. They said:
“Our staff team were so pleased to have a really lovely dinner thanks to the Surprise Fund. It was great to share an evening together in a lovely restaurant. This is something we don't get to do together. Everyone also reported how nice it was to feel so appreciated and rewarded for all their hard work and commitment. Thank you, Hyde, for allowing us to give our team such a lovely treat!”
Find out more about Hyde Foundation and Hyde Charitable Trust.