On Tuesday 21 October, Conor Burns MP welcomed more than 30 philanthropic members of the Dorset community at a special reception in Parliament on behalf of the Dorset Community Foundation.
The event in Parliament provided an opportunity for Dorset Community Foundation’s ambassadors and trustees to talk with invited guests in order to promote the work of the Foundation and encourage other individuals to become involved.
The attendees were welcomed to the reception by Conor Burns, before listening to speeches from Dorset Community Foundation’s Chair of Trustees, Ashley Rowlands, the chairman of UK Community Foundations, David Sheepshanks, and Martha Searle, one of the many beneficiaries of the Dorset Community Foundation’s work in Bournemouth.
Commenting after the event, Conor said: “I was delighted to host this celebration of philanthropy on behalf of the Dorset Community Foundation. The event was a great success, and highlighted the fantastic work that the Dorset Community Foundation does in connecting local people to local causes.”
Chair of Trustees Ashley Rowlands said: “The Foundation wants to broaden its appeal to those people born or resident in Dorset who work in London. This event was intended to start this process of engagement by introducing those attending to the opportunities for philanthropy and how the Foundation can assist people who are connected to Dorset and want to give something back. I was delighted with the event which was well attended and enthusiastically received. On behalf of the Board I would like to express my particular thanks to Conor Burns who offered to host the event. We will be holding more of these events in the future both in Dorset and in London, and we are always happy to talk to anyone interested in how they can tailor their philanthropy to the causes they believe in and which can benefit the people of Dorset.”
The Dorset Community Foundation was established in 2000, and since that time has distributed over £10 million to more than 1,800 local charities and community groups. It is one of 48 community foundations in the UK, which collectively distributed over £65 million to good causes in the last year alone.
To learn more about the work of the Dorset Community Foundation, please visit their website at www.dorsetcommunityfoundation.org.