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Business networking group the B4-8 Club has given away £10,000 split across five local charities.
The donations were made at the September edition of the club’s monthly breakfast meeting and club members heard from representatives of each of the five charities on the difference their donations would make.
Each of The Bailiwick of Guernsey Scouting Association, Bright Beginnings, Action Aid Guernsey, Age Concern Guernsey and Guernsey Riding for the Disabled received £2,000.
The B4-8 Club is a dedicated business-networking club in Guernsey. It meets once a month for breakfast, generally at Les Cotils, and has 45 members.
Andrew Carey, B4-8 Club committee member, said: “What’s really pleasing about these donations is the breadth of organisations who will benefit from the money. We wanted to reach as many groups as possible and our money will help the young, the elderly, community groups, overseas projects and the disabled.
“Our members voted to give away some of the club’s funds and that is indicative of the generosity of the business community here in Guernsey. We had the chance to make a real difference and we feel we’ve been able to do that.”
The Scouting Association is the largest co-educational group in the Bailiwick and works with 700 young people in the islands. Nick Paluch, who is a member of the B4-8 Club, spoke to the members about the difference the funds would make along with volunteers Scott Dority and Amy Woodland.
Teresa Bott is the Children’s Centre Manager at Bright Beginnings, which is part of the Every Child Our Future initiative. She told club members that the donation will help to develop the stay-and-play room which they want to make more neutral and natural to benefit members.
Lily Prus spoke on behalf of Action Aid Guernsey and explained that the funds will go towards the group’s work to rebuild a school in Nepal that was severely impacted by the 2015 earthquake in the country. 13 volunteers from Guernsey and Jersey will go to Nepal to help with the rebuild project in October.
Chair of Age Concern Guernsey Dave Inglis thanked the club for the donation and said that it would be used to host events for the charity’s members and maintain the buses that are a vital lifeline for many members.
Guernsey Riding for the Disabled puts on riding lessons and classes three times a week to give young people living with disabilities the chance to experience horse riding and caring for animals. Joint chair of the charity Heidi Ephgrave said that the children who take part in the initiative can experience a huge confidence boost.
