2025 was a truly special year for us as we marked a major milestone: the 100th anniversary of our branch opening on Chalfont St Giles High Street. We could not have achieved this without the support of our members and local community. As a Society, we take pride in being able to give back to the area we are fortunate to call home, so last year we launched our monthly member newsletter, Bucks Bulletin, to keep you up to date with all that we’ve been up to. Here’s a recap of the wonderful initiatives we’ve been able to support with your help.
Over the past year we were delighted to have supported a number of local events including the annual village show, the Scouts fireworks display and the village Christmas lights and grotto. We also contributed funds to our local village hall to enable them to purchase new audio-visual equipment, helping to enhance future community events!
Local schools play a vital part in our community, so we were pleased to sponsor fundraising events including a Colour Run, Strawberry Fayre and a comedy night run by Seer Green Pre-School. Some of our colleagues also took time out of their day to help paint one of the classrooms of CSG Infant School, ensuring it was ready for the next school year.
Through our ongoing partnership with WizeUp Financial Education, we were able to support 8 nearby secondary schools, ensuring that the next generation has a better understanding of everything from student finance to CV writing to credit cards and beyond.
A highlight of the year was celebrating success across Buckinghamshire’s business community at the Buckinghamshire Business Awards. For the second year running, we were proud to sponsor the Excellence in Customer Experience award, recognising organisations that go above and beyond to deliver outstanding service. We were delighted to present the award to Woodrow High House, whose work supporting young people through outdoor learning continues to make a positive impact across the county.
We were also proud to support Aylesbury Homeless Action Group (AHAG) as our Charity of the Year, chosen by our members at the AGM. AHAG plays a vital role in supporting people experiencing homelessness across Aylesbury and north Buckinghamshire, offering practical advice, wellbeing support and access to essential services. In recognition of their important work, we were pleased to present the charity with a £5,000 donation in 2025.
Elsewhere, 2025 saw us venture into the world of sport as we sponsored Chesham United’s football pitch and the shirts for Chalfont St Giles Cricket Club. For those of you who prefer high-octane activities that get your adrenaline pumping, we also sponsored the Scanna Skydive in aid of Scannappeal! This is a fantastic organisation that helps to provide local hospitals with vital, state-of-the-art medical equipment not otherwise be available through the NHS.
In April, we were proud to share that our CEO, Dan Wass, completed the London Landmarks Half Marathon on behalf of Citizens Advice Bucks (CAB). His remarkable efforts resulted in him raising over £2000 for the charity. CAB offers free, independent advice to help people with everything from debt and housing to benefits and employment rights. Every donation helps them continue to support those who need it most across Buckinghamshire.
Another standout moment was presenting Black Park Shed with a grant of £5,000 from our Community Fund, now in its second year! The fund is entirely designed and led by our colleagues and continues to make a meaningful difference locally. You can read more about the fund and our winner’s by clicking here.
Our long-standing partners at Heart of Bucks have been instrumental in helping us to support our local community and we were delighted to return that support as they celebrated their 25th anniversary. Since 2000, the Community Foundation has awarded more than £20 million in grants. We were honoured to celebrate their achievements at their awards ceremony at Hedsor House in December, where we sponsored the Outstanding Contribution by an Organisation to the Charity Sector in Buckinghamshire award and were pleased to present it to Wycombe Homeless Connection.
Thank you to all our community partners for their dedication to looking after those in our area and their devotion to the causes they support. We’re looking forward to continuing in 2026, there’s plenty to look forward to.
