Local charities team up with TV legend to raise over £2,000

Last bank holiday weekend the Blunsdon Community Shop hosted a hugely successful summer event, raising £2,083 for their community benefit organisation.

Just over a year after opening its doors, hundreds of people came together for the shop’s second annual raffle event. This was supported by TV presenter Nick Knowles, and groups including the Rapid Relief Team (RRT), the charity made up of volunteers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, who served 60 free hot meals.

With Knowles tasked with reading out the names of the lucky winners, setting up tents outside the shop were local RRT volunteers from Blunsdon and surrounding areas of Swindon, who cooked and served meals alongside drinks and refreshments to villagers. Throughout the day the charity raised £339 in donations for the shop.

The opening of the Community shop and café was the culmination of 20 years of work for the team of volunteers who had been running their not-for-profit community benefit organisation from their small cabin outside Blunsdon Village Hall since the last shop in the village closed.

After being gifted the building from Hayfield Homes, the community rallied together to fundraise for the brand-new community shop and café through shares, personalised block paving, local grants and events. Since this point it has continued to grow as a key asset in the local area, offering everyday essentials, local products and gifts, café space for locals, and hosting community events.

Laurie Pomeroy, Swindon Team Leader for the Rapid Relief Team UK, said: “The Rapid Relief Team, a charity made up of volunteers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, was delighted to support the Community Shop with this excellent event.

“We have been proud supporters of the Community Shop and its team of volunteers over the last few years and were delighted to come along to their Summer Raffle Event and serve 60 meals to villagers and donate over £300 to the shop.

“This is our way of saying thank you to the volunteer’s staff who work so hard day in, day out, to make this a great place for Blunsdon.

“Together with volunteers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and the RRT, we are committed to supporting our local communities. This is a way in which we can help and show appreciation to those volunteers at the Community Shop who do so much at the hub.”

Maggie Banda, Chair of Blunsdon Community Shop & Café, said: “I’d like to say a big shoutout to the Rapid Relief Team who have put on a BBQ for the community today. This has all been done by volunteers, for free, with all donations going to the shop, which is amazing.

“It is these kinds of donations that help us pay for the little extra bits that we need in the community shop and keep things running.

“Not only have they helped us today, but they have supported in other areas, with volunteers laying the sponsored block paving outside the shop, installing the much-needed defibrillation machine last year, and re-tarmacking our old site so the local pre-school children have a space to play on.

“It’s great to have RRT volunteers working in the community and great to be working alongside them, and we look forward to doing more events together in the future.”