Every community has them. The people who give up their evenings. The volunteers who turn up when somebody needs help. The small organisations that create friendships, keep people active, support someone through illness, or quite literally answer the call when somebody is in danger.

They rarely do it for recognition. They simply see something that needs doing and get on with it. That is exactly why the Wessex Community Bank Foundation exists.

Through our latest round of Community Grants for June 2026, we have been delighted to support another fantastic group of local organisations. They are all very different, but they have one important thing in common: they are making life better for people in their communities. We think they deserve to be celebrated.

AutAngel. Growing much more than vegetables.

Based in Reading, AutAngel is run by autistic people, for autistic people, helping to build a strong and supportive autistic community through social groups, activities and opportunities to connect.

One of those activities is its community gardening project. AutAngel was recently given an additional charity allotment plot, but turning an overgrown piece of land into a space its gardening group can enjoy takes tools, plants, seeds, and plenty of hard work.
Our Foundation grant is helping provide the practical gardening equipment needed to put the plot to proper use.

It is a wonderfully simple idea, but that is exactly what we like about it. A few tools, some plants and seeds can create far more than an allotment. They create an activity people can enjoy together, somewhere to belong and another opportunity for friendships to grow.

We can't wait to see what grows there.

Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service. Helping keep the people who save lives safe.

Some community organisations operate in circumstances where having the right equipment isn't simply useful. It is essential. They are an independent lifeboat and rescue service protecting people across the Eastern Solent and Portsmouth Harbour.

Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service is operated by unpaid volunteers who are ready to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
During 2025 alone, GAFIRS responded to 96 incidents, assisted 55 people, and its volunteers contributed around 10,000 hours to running the service.

Our Foundation funding has helped with specialist protective equipment, including the dry suits used by rescue crews when they head out onto the water.

These volunteers give their time, skills and sometimes put themselves in extremely challenging situations to help complete strangers. Being able to give something back to them is something we are particularly proud of.

South Coast Volleyball Club. Getting people playing.

Community sport does far more than produce winners and league tables. It gets people moving. It creates friendships. It builds confidence. It gives young people and adults somewhere to meet, participate and feel part of a team.

That is why we were delighted to support South Coast Volleyball Club, a local club recognised by Volleyball England in the Poole area.
Their Community Grant is helping fund practical equipment, including volleyball nets and balls. They have also been generous to us by adding our logo to their sports shirts. Thank you.

Again, these are straightforward things. But without the equipment, there is no game. Good community sports clubs depend on people volunteering their time and enthusiasm, and on having the facilities and equipment needed to keep welcoming people through the door. We hope our contribution means plenty more serves, rallies, matches and new players discovering the sport.

The Breast Friends. Making sure cancer patients don't make the journey alone.

Sometimes community support is about being there at one of the most difficult moments in somebody's life. The Breast Friends of Hants & Isle of Wight CIC, through its Lemon Aid project in Ryde, provides practical and emotional support to people affected by breast cancer on the Isle of Wight.

Its work includes support bags, essential vouchers, a welcoming community hub and something particularly important on an island: help getting to treatment.

The Lemon Aid Transport & Lift Service helps people get to breast appointments and chemotherapy at St Mary's Hospital, as well as connecting patients with onward travel to the mainland for radiotherapy.
Our Community Grant is helping support that transport service.
It is easy to underestimate the difference something like a lift can make. When somebody is already dealing with a cancer diagnosis and treatment, worrying about how they are going to get to an appointment is one problem they simply shouldn't have to face.

The Breast Friends are helping remove that worry while providing something else that matters enormously: the reassurance that somebody is there and somebody cares. We think that is pretty special.

Wessex Cancer Support. Creating somewhere people can turn to.

We were also delighted to support Wessex Cancer Support as it developed its new premises. For 45 years, Wessex Cancer Support has been helping people affected by cancer across Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.

Its services include cancer support centres, counselling, wellbeing support, groups, activities and online support, all provided outside the hospital environment and available to people affected by cancer and their families.

In 2025 alone, the charity delivered almost 19,000 cancer support sessions.
Its services include cancer support centres, counselling, wellbeing support, groups, activities and online support, all provided outside the hospital environment and available to people affected by cancer and their families. In 2025 alone, the charity delivered almost 19,000 cancer support sessions.

Its new Bournemouth centre provides substantially more space, including counselling and therapy rooms, an activity studio and flexible areas for courses and support groups, allowing the organisation to help even more local people.

Our Foundation grant has helped towards the practical costs involved in getting those new facilities ready. When somebody walks through the door looking for support, the building itself is only part of the story.

What really matters is what happens inside it: somebody listening, somebody understanding and somebody being there when they are needed. We are extremely pleased to play even a small part in helping that happen.

We are incredibly grateful to the people behind AutAngel, GAFIRS, South Coast Volleyball Club, The Breast Friends and Wessex Cancer Support and to the many other grassroots organisations across our region whose volunteers quietly do extraordinary things every week.

Could your group be next?

If you run a local charity, club, community group or grassroots project, we would genuinely like to hear from you. You don't need to be a large organisation and you don't need a complicated proposal.

Tell us what you are doing, who it helps and what a Community Grant would enable you to do. Our Community Grant programme has already supported more than 150 local groups and causes, with applications considered every three months. Grants are designed particularly for practical things that enable good local projects to happen – equipment, materials, accessibility items, venue costs, safety equipment and other specific needs that can make a real difference.

The next application deadline is 15 September 2026.

So, if there is something good happening in your community and a little extra backing could help you do more of it, apply today.

We would love the next group we celebrate to be yours.

Small Grants. Brilliant People. Big Difference in Our Communities.