Louis Baylis Trust hands out more than £80,000 to charities

The Louis Baylis Trust (LBT) has handed out more than £80,000 in grants to good causes in the area in its latest round of donations.

After a tough financial year and the charity sector being hit hard by the effects of the pandemic, the Maidenhead Advertiser’s owner has distributed the funds to 48 groups in desperate need of support.

Cash will help the good causes continue their work as they navigate out of the COVID crisis, which has seen 16 months-worth of restrictions impact their fundraising and income.

Large charities such as Citizens Advice in Maidenhead have been supported again, with the trust increasing its donation to the group after the pandemic forced more people to use its support services.

Other smaller scale projects including the Blue Acre Horse Rescue in Old Windsor have also been given funds, which is one of eight new good causes this year which came forward with applications.

Familiar names on the list include The Dash Charity, which supports victims of domestic abuse in the Royal Borough and Slough, and received £3,000.

Thames Hospice, located in Bray, benefitted from £3,000, while Alexander Devine in Snowball Hill received £5,000 from the Trust.

Money has also been distributed to a project called ‘Maidenhead Advertiser Trees’, which is an initiative launched by the paper to help make the town carbon neutral through the planting of more trees.

LBT trustee John Robertson said: “The charity sector has been hit hard by the pandemic and we try to cover as many aspects of community life as we can.

“Many are relatively small grants but they are vital to a lot of the smaller charities we support. In many cases it probably helps them to keep going.”

Profits from the Advertiser go back into the LBT, and John added that it is a tradition not seen with many other local newspaper publishers.

“I do not know any other local newspaper that is owned by a charity,” he said.

“It is vital, and we recognise the value it has and we try to help as many people as we can.”

John urged any other charities interested to send off an application form, with the deadline for the next round of donations not until October.

Visit bit.ly/3Bqxej2 to find out more about the LBT and apply for a grant.

Below is a full list of the latest recipients of the Louis Baylis Trust grants, which were handed out earlier this month:

• Elizabeth House, Cookham (Age Concern) – £1,300
• Berkshire Vision – £1,000
• Maidenhead Citizens Advice Bureau – £13,500
• Salvation Army (Maidenhead) – £1,000
• People to Places – £2,700
• Family Friends Windsor and Maidenhead – £2,000
• Maidenhead Volunteer Bureau – £1,000
• Great Ormond Street Hospital – £1,000
• Air Ambulance – £1,000
• Thames Hospice – £3,000
• Rotary Club of Maidenhead Thames schools computers – £2,000 (awarded between January and June 2021)
• The Berkshire Masonic Charity– £2,000 (awarded between January and June 2021)
• Adult Dyslexia – £1,000
• The Dash Charity – £3,000
• AGE Concern Slough and Berkshire East – £1,000
• Rotary Boundary Walk – £1,000
• Berkshire Masons chidren’s panto outing – £2,000
• Beehive Pre-School – £500
• Link Foundation – £2,000
• Child Autism – £500
• Target Ovarian Cancer – £1,000
• St Mary’s Church White Waltham – £1,000
• Ufton Court Educational Trust – £1,000
• Re:Charge R&R – £3,000
• Maidenhead Amateur Swimming Club – £2,000
• Smart Works Reading – £2,000
• Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service – £5,000
• Windsor Horse Rangers – £1,000
• Eton Wick First School – £500
• Berkshire Care Trust – £1,500
• Queen Anne Royal Free CE First School – £500
• Kevin Cruise Foundation – £2,000
• Maidenhead Community Book Festival – Rotary Club of Maidenhead Thames – £1,500
• Methodist Church, High Street – £1,000
• The Woodland Centre Trust (Camp Mohawk) – £1,700 (awarded between January and June 2021)
• Burnham Men in Sheds – £1,400
• 22 Counselling – £2,800
• Brett Foundation School Computers – £3,000 (awarded between January and June 2021)
• Voices Anon – £500 (awarded between January and June 2021)
• Blue Acre Horse Rescue – £500
• Repair Café Maidenhead – £939
• Maidenhead Advertiser Trees – £2,250
• Absolutely Leisure – £1,000
• Wild Cookham – £2,000
• COVID Garden – £800
• Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead Theatre Co – £1,000
• British Disabled Angling Assoc – £1,000
• Leisure Focus Trust – £600

Total paid out between January and June 2021: £9,200

Total paid out in July 2021: £75,789