Local community foundation, Heart of Bucks, are celebrating 25 years of community giving. As one of their grantees, we were thrilled to welcome the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, Pippa Kirkbride, Heart of Bucks trustees and the team to our Heritage Centre in Stoke Mandeville. During the the visit, the National Paralympic Heritage Trust was presented with a certificate in recognition of their charitable services to Buckinghamshire.

As well as helping us to launch the Heritage Centre back in 2019, their support has enabled some of our most innovative digital projects, archive exhibitions and outreach work with young people, teachers and museums. It was a pleasure to celebrate 25yrs of their work by welcoming the team to the Heritage Centre and sharing exactly what their support has meant for us.

Where the Money Goes

Heart of Bucks are currently supporting our work to elevate the stories of influential women of the Paralympic Movement, by way of a community exhibition of the Jean Stone collection in the near future - watch this space! In 2023, Heart of Bucks generously contributed to the first year of development of our Global Virtual Museum. More specifically, the project work with local schools and museums in Bucks which ran parallel, culminating in an exhibition which can be explored in the Buckinghamshire Gallery of the Global Virtual Museum. Heart of Bucks also supported the museum's precursor; the Digital Explorations Museum project, during which collection items were 3D scanned and preserved in the digital space for the first time.

Through the Kophill Climb fund in 2022, we have also been able to support young people with sensory needs via interactive workshops and support for SEND teachers.

If you, like Heart of Bucks, are interested in supporting the NPHT and our work to protect and share Paralympic heritage and promote a greater understanding of disability, please email our Trusts and Foundations Fundraising Manager, Rose Walker at [email protected]