New Alresford Town Trust

How you can help?

Do you live in Alresford or one of its surrounding villages? Do you love your hometown? Do you want to put something of yourself into it? If your answer to all three of these questions is 'yes', you might like to consider becoming involved with the Town Trust. It does charitable work that helps the less fortunate, it keeps alive ancient rights and traditions and it conserves historic buildings and other parts of the town. The Trust is dedicated to keeping Alresford special.

It is a registered charity and, as such, is required by law to encourage the involvement of as many members of the public as possible in its work. If you have views on the work of the Trust, please tell us. If you are able to give of your time or your money we would like to hear from you. Whether you have a little time to give or a lot, whether have a small amount of money to contribute or a great deal, we have something for you.

There are nine ways you could chose to become involved.

Giving of your time

Become a Town Trustee

All Trustees are volunteers who work for no financial gain but purely for the benefit of the town. There are six formal meetings a year to attend and responsibilities to enact in between. Trustees act and vote as individuals with no political affiliation whatsoever.

There are nine trustee positions; five are filled by Town Council nominations and four are co-opted from members of the community. We are always interested to hear from individuals who are willing to serve a five-year term as a co-opted Trustee. There may not be a position available immediately but, like every other organisation, we have to consider succession planning and an availability list helps the Trust a great deal.

If you are interested please contact the Clerk.

Sit on a Town Trust sub committee

The Trust is run on a sub committee system with members of the public sitting alongside Trustees as a team responsible for the running of each of its two major activities:

  • Eel House sub committee.
  • Community Minibus sub committee
  • Alresford Museum committee

Each of them sits three or four times a year under the chairmanship of a Trustee. If you want to serve on either of these committees, please contact the Clerk.

Volunteer to become a community minibus driver

The Mini-busThe community minibus travels around 11,000 miles a year covering more than 600 journeys. It is run by the Trust for the benefit of the elderly and the disabled. The drivers are all volunteers who give of their time freely. At present there are thirty of them.

We are always in need of more drivers to both provide cover for illnesses and holidays and to replace those who retire from the current list. If you interested in becoming a volunteer driver and are under the age of seventy please contact the Clerk. All you need is a full driving licence with no record of convictions. Pam will arrange all the other necessary details.

You will be expected to have an initial medical check and to undertake a training test every four years. This is called MIDAS, standing for the Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme, run by the University of Winchester .

Train to become an Eel House guide

The historic two hundred years old Eel House is open to the public eight days a year from 1100 through to 1700 hours. It is staffed during these times by a three teams of two guides. Each team of two does a two-hour stint that involves giving a short talk of the history and purpose of the building, answering visitor's questions and receiving their donations. Training is provided and you will be teamed with an experienced guide to start with.

To become a guide contact robin@atkinsfca.co.uk

Help us litter pick on The Avenue

The land either side of The Avenue from Pound Hill to Drove Lane is the responsibility of the Town Trustees. Twice a year we arrange litter-picking parties to keep the rather grand western entranceway to this town of ours clean and tidy. Times and dates will appear in the local press and on this web site.

To volunteer for this activity please contact the Clerk..

Giving of your money

The Town Trust is your local charity. It does not rent or own an office and the only employee is a part-time clerk. Administrative costs are kept to a minimum. Any money you choose to give will be used in total for the benefit of the town. None of it will vanish into the overheads that are usually involved in running an organisation.

The Trustees report to the Charity Commissioners who require complete transparency in all activities. This means that whatever you give, you can track it to ensure that it is being used for precisely the purpose you intended. Because the Trust is a registered charity, any monies given are not subject to inheritance tax. In addition, if you are a UK basic rate taxpayer, a signature on a gift aid form will allow the Trust to claim an extra 25% of your original donation from Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs.

Make a bequest or a gift

Most of the Town Trust's land and buildings have come from bequests or gifts. The Avenue was a gift from the Bishop of Winchester in 1869. The land on which the Old Fire Station stands arrived as a result of a bequest from Mrs Covey in 1881. More recently we have received gifts totalling £22,000 from local individuals interested in saving the Eel House. This total includes £3,000 claimed from HMRC as gift aid.

To enquire about making a bequest or a gift to the Trust, please contact Robin Atkins.

Include a clause in your will

Many individuals include gifts to charities in their wills. We hope you will consider the Town Trust when drawing up your own document. If you wish to seek more legal or financial details before doing so, please contact Robin Atkins.

Contribute a donation or raise some funds

The Town Trust accepts donations or funds for either general or specific purposes. The Trustees will be grateful for any contribution towards its overall functions, but if you want your donation to be put towards one particular service in the town, that can be specified. For example if you believe that the community minibus warrants your financial support, then the Trustees will ensure that your contribution will be spent only on activities relating to its operation.

For advice on making a donation or raising funds for the Trust please contact Robin Atkins.

Donate to the Town Trust when you trade on E-bay

The Town Trust has joined the E-bay for Charity scheme. When placing your advert on E-bay, select the 'E-bay for Charity option' and type in 'New Alresford Town Trust'. Specify what proportion of the sale proceeds is to be donated and select 'Paypal' as the payment method. The minimum donation is £1.

E-bay places a charity ribbon next to your advertisement to which some buyers are attracted. Come on, give it a go; you never know, you may entice more buyers this way! To enquire about this method of giving please contact Roy Gentry.