Chard Museum receives 'important' Cash for Charity donation

Chard and District Museum received the money after being nominated by our readers and gaining 213 votes in the regional ‘Cash for Charities’ campaign.

The money comes from the Gannett Foundation, the charitable arm of the parent company of Newsquest – publisher of the Chard and Ilminster News, Somerset County Gazette, Bridgwater Mercury, and Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News.

The Gannett Foundation provided £125,000 to support local charities across the UK, £20,000 of which was allocated to charities in Wales and the south west.

Chard Museum was one of two Somerset charities nominated alongside St Giles Animal Rescue.

Readers were invited to collect tokens from our newspapers to send to collection points or post to us. The tokens were used to allocate cash to each nominated charity.

Chard Museum received a 24.1 per cent share of the vote in Wales and the south west, so received the same share of the £20,000.

Since 1970, the charity has run a public museum in Godworthy House, Chard, where it manages and preserves a collection of artefacts, photographs, maps, letters, and other items of interest relating to the history, geography and geology of Chard and the surrounding area.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: The museum's management want it to expand beyond its walls and into the local community (Image: Newsquest)

Howard Bailey, communications and marketing officer at Chard Museum, said the money is “really important for our new mission statement, which is about taking the museum out to other organisations and places rather than having them come to us.”

Chard Museum updated its mission statement in December 2019 to create a new community engagement plan, which it will undertake while maintaining and developing its museum building.

One part of their mission statement that will be supported by this funding is creating ‘history in a box’.

ARTEFACTS: The museum contains photographs, maps, letters, and other items of interest from the town's history

The boxes will contain physical and digital artefacts that students and adults can interact with directly, such as clothing from different time periods, ration books from the Second World War, and quizzes and learning activities.

Howard said: “The museum wants to involve itself in more community engagement.

"We have started curating a museum without walls, and our new 'history in a box' will go to schools and other organisations so they can use our artefacts and stories.”

This donation is expected to cover the three-year cost of the ‘history in a box’ project with some money left over.

“With the extra money we have gained, we are planning to make activity packs for parents and families to do at home that we will deliver and give out,” said Howard.

"GRATEFUL": Howard Bailey and the rest of the Chard Museum team say the money raised by readers "exceeded all expectations"

These activity packs will include instructions for ‘I spy’ walks and replicas of the museum’s artefacts.

Like all other charities, the museum’s fundraising has been impacted by the pandemic over the last two years, but Howard said the museum’s creative thinking has allowed them to find new, safe ways to interact with the community. 

LOCAL SUPPORT: Museum chairman Vince Lean outside Godworthy House, Chard High Street, after the museum received a £4,819 donation

This money, he says, will help the museum carry out its next steps sooner.

Howard added: “We are incredibly grateful to all readers of the Chard and Ilminster News. The money we got exceeded all expectations.”

St Giles Animal Rescue received 27.04 per cent of votes cast in Wales and the south west and was given £5,407.24.

The money will be used in part by the Wrantage-based animal rescue centre to cover its winter utility bills, ensuring its rescued dogs and cats stay warm.

Some of the money will go towards opening an educational facility for young adults with special educational needs or physical and mental disabilities and schoolchildren, allowing them to interact with St Giles’ animals.