The background:
At Bedruthan Steps Hotel we actively work at minimising our negative impacts on our surrounding environment. We also try our hardest to ensure that the financial benefits of the tourism industry can reach the wider community by purchasing the vast majority of our produce, products and services from within Cornwall and the South West region. Additionally, we support a number of Cornish charities, such as the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Surfers Against Sewage as well as a variety of Cornish community groups and initiatives. However, as one of the larger businesses in the Mawgan-in-Pydar parish we are keen to make a difference to the quality of local life, so … we set up the Community Fund.

What is the Community Fund?
The Community Fund is a charitable initiative set up by Bedruthan Steps Hotel and The Scarlet Hotel to help support new and existing environmental and social projects within the St-Mawgan- in-Pydar area.    Anyone can apply to the fund for support for projects relating to; urban or rural regeneration, sustainable development, advances in the education of the public, or the promotion of social inclusion, so long as the project is situated in, or is benefiting those living in the St-Mawgan-in-Pydar area.
The Board of Trustees, which is made up of two hotel directors, the staff member from each hotel who was presented with our 'cherishing the World' sustainability award at the beginning of the year, and two responsible members of the local community, will meet four times each year to decide how to apportion the raised funds; 100% of the raised funds will go to support projects, the hotels provide the administration of the charitable fund and all overheads free of charge.

Recent projects the community fund has supported...

Mawgan Porth Village Hall
The Community Fund was recently able to help out the Village Hall, who were short a few knives and forks for their Diamond Jubilee celebrations.   The Village Hall is a great asset for our community and by funding more cutlery, the Hall is now able to cater for larger groups of people at their events.  Using proper, durable cutlery also means they can avoid having to use disposable utensils, which only create more waste, and end up costing more in the long term.  

CHAT
The Community Fund has provided funds to the group known as CHAT (CHy lowen, Alpacas, Tregaswith) for the purchase of a livestock trailer which will help them attend more events over the summer.  CHAT is a not-for-profit venture that provides Animal Assisted Interventions for young people experiencing emotional & behavioural difficulties, including the autistic spectrum.  They work with a number of local young people, and have been recognised by the Home Office in a report about the Cornwall Youth Offending Service as an example of good practice.   

CHAT encourage their students to get involved in charity work, and encourage them to participate in fund raising events.  The group often take their animals to events, such as the recent Run to the Sun Festival in Newquay, and raise funds for local charities such as the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust.

Community First Responder
In October 2011 the Community Fund was able to help out the Community First Responder for our area.  A Community First Responder is a volunteer who is trained to attend emergency calls received by the ambulance service, and provides care until the ambulance arrives.  First Responders are dispatched at the same time as an ambulance, via ambulance control, to attend Category A 'immediately life-threatening' calls such as a cardiac arrest, diabetic emergency, or an unconscious patient.

In order for our local First Responder to go “live” he needed the appropriate medical kit, which includes a defibrillator.  The Community Fund provided the funding for this kit and since going “live” our First Responder has been busy attending shouts all around the Parish.

New Furniture!
One of the Community Fund’s first donations was to assist the St Eval Area Community Action Forum (SEACAF) with their venture of opening up a new Community Centre.  Over several months in late 2011, local residents worked hard to get the new Trevisker St Eval Social Club into shape and ready for occupation.  A donation from the Community Fund was used by SEACAF to purchase furniture for the centre, including tables, chairs and stools.  The Centre officially opened at the end of January 2012, and now provides a great local hub and facility for local residents.

Community Fund contact information:
For    further    information    please    contact    our    Sustainability    Manager    on
sustainability@bedruthan.com or (01637) 861203.