The Ray Collins Charitable Trust has received a £1,000 donation from David Wilson Homes, which has helped to feed 12 families for a week.

Set up in 2016, the trust supports aids people in Wantage, Grove and the surrounding villages in the relief of poverty, ill health, loneliness, isolation and serious injury.

It has recently been granted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service which, known as the MBE of the Voluntary Groups, is the highest award in the voluntary sector in the UK. The accolade aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups that benefit their local communities.

The £1,000 donation from David Wilson Homes was part of the housebuilder’s Community Fund scheme, which is designed to support charities in need of support throughout the year.

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Ray Collins, founder of the trust, said: “We usually run day trips for 60 local elderly residents living in isolation and 30 disadvantaged families including 125 children, but because of Covid-19 this wasn’t possible. We have kept the families and elderly fed for over 12 months now at a cost of just under £50,000.

“We were really pleased to receive the fantastic donation, as in the last 18 months we haven’t been able to hold any fundraising events and we’ve relied on donations.

“The Community Fund scheme is a wonderful initiative and a lifeline at a time when many charities are under pressure to help without the means to raise any funds.”

Throughout the pandemic, the trust has supported disadvantaged families through buying them food, essential appliances and medical supplies.

The charity’s volunteers have now started to fund cooking classes for mums who have little or no culinary skills. They are also planning to run Food Hygiene and Health and Safety courses for the mums to learn new skills to guide them back into employment.

Paul Crispin, managing director at David Wilson Homes Southern, said: “During a challenging time for many people, the efforts of The Ray Collins Charitable Trust have been admirable and we’re delighted to support its work with a £1,000 donation as part of our Community Fund scheme.

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“The charity has created a fantastic support network for those in need in Oxfordshire and the volunteers should be very proud of everything they’ve achieved, especially in the past year.”

For more information about The Ray Collins Charitable Trust, visit raycollinstrust.org.

David Wilson Homes is building new homes in the area at Letcombe Gardens.

The housebuilder is part of Barratt Developments PLC, a FTSE100 company. Barratt was awarded a maximum five-star rating for the 12th consecutive year in 2021.