Month: July 2020

We were delighted to meet Simon Lewis and Esher and Walton MP, Dominic Raab representing the Elmbridge Philanthropy Fund today. We have benefited hugely from a grant they and Community Foundation for Surrey donated to us. The funding allowed us to recruit a Volunteer Manager to offer our team of volunteers more support.

Simon Lewis is the Chairman for Elmbridge Philanthropy Fund and Dominic Raab helped to set up the fund and is a proud supporter of the work that it does to assist the local community. Today they met with some of the volunteers to talk about how important Painshill is to them and the ways in which is improves their mental and physical wellbeing.

Painshill has a team of over 200 volunteers who help the small charity run the 18^th century landscape garden. They take on various roles from gardening and maintenance to meeting visitors and running guided tours.

Thank you so much to the Elmbridge Philanthropy Fund and Community Foundation for Surrey for their continued support.

Esher and Walton MP Dominic Raab said,“It was great to visit Painshill Park today, seeing how it is bouncing back from the disruption caused by Coronavirus. Volunteers are crucial to the park’s operation, so it was good to meet so many of them today. It was particularly encouraging to meet Lucy Ward, a Volunteer Manager whose recruitment was funded by a grant from the Community Foundation for Surrey and Elmbridge Philanthropy. Having helped to set up Elmbridge Philanthropy, it’s fantastic to see it funding such important local initiatives like this.”

Paul Griffiths, Director of Painshill, said, “It was a pleasure to have the chance to show Simon and Dominic what a huge difference the funding has made to Painshill. We couldn’t manage without our amazing volunteers and, in return, want to ensure the beautiful landscape offers them the chance to improve their wellbeing and feel part of a team. It is fantastic to have Lucy, our Volunteer Manager, to give them support”

Find out more about Elmbridge Philanthropy

Learn more about volunteering at Painshill 

We are delighted to announce that Painshill Park Trust has received £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help combat the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Designed in the 18^th century by Charles Hamilton, Painshill fell into ruins until it was saved by the Trust in the 1980s. Over the years we have been restoring each of the follies and recreating the views for our 130,000 visitors a year. Painshill relies on ticket admission income for its survival.

Director of Painshill Paul Griffiths said: “The Painshill team are hugely relieved and overjoyed to have received this generous grant. These vital funds will go towards combating the financial impact of Painshill’s recent nine-week closure. We’re grateful that The National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting us at this crucial time – it’s a lifeline to us and others who are passionate about sustaining heritage for the benefit of all.”

The funding, made possible by National Lottery players, was awarded through The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Heritage Emergency Fund. £50million has been made available to provide emergency funding for those most in need across the heritage sector.

The UK-wide fund will address both immediate emergency actions and help organisations to start thinking about recovery.

Ros Kerslake, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, supporting economic regeneration and benefiting our personal wellbeing. All of these things are going to be even more important as we emerge from this current crisis.

“Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we are pleased to be able to lend our support to organisations such as Painshill during this uncertain time.”

Like Painshill, other charities and organisations across the UK that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus outbreak are being given access to a comprehensive package of support of up to £600 million of repurposed money from The National Lottery. This money is supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and span the arts, community, charity, heritage, education, environment and sports sectors.

Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for good causes, including heritage of local and national importance. By playing The National Lottery, people up and down the country are making an amazing contribution to the nationwide-response to combating the impact of COVID-19 on local communities across the UK.

Find out more about the National Lottery Good Causes

This funding will help Painshill to recover from the financial damage the COVID-19 lockdown caused, specifically supporting its costs for four months. While this funding is a vital lifeline for the park’s immediate future, it will require additional support urgently to secure the charity’s long-term future.

Find out more about Painshill and how you can help today