Children at St Michael’s Church of England School celebrate World Book Day donation
To mark World Book Day, which took place on Thursday 7th March, we donated £250 to St Michael’s Church of England School to go towards some new books for its pupils to enjoy.
Mrs Sara Williamson, Headteacher at St Michael’s Church of England School, said: “Reading is such an important life skill and something that we encourage all of our pupils to do more of. Having new books to get stuck into helps to keep up an enthusiasm for reading and we would like to thank Taylor Wimpey for their kind donation. We can’t wait to add to our library and share new stories with each other.”
Jason Stokes, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South Thames, said: “Books are a fantastic way for children to learn about the world around them and to feed their imaginations. We were delighted to offer a donation to St Michael’s Church of England School to help them to celebrate World Book Day and hope that the new books will be enjoyed for years to come.”
Three Fields is the perfect place for Alex and Abi to start life as a family
A couple from St Michaels moved into their dream home at our Three Fields development just in time for the arrival of their first child. Alex Jones and his partner Abi Ireland moved into their brand new four bedroom house in July and welcomed their baby girl, Eloise on the very same day.
Alex, who runs an audio visual and home automation business, Potters Home Digital, and Abi who is a Regional Business Development Manager, are now well settled in their new home and getting used to their lives as new parents. Alex says: “We were really looking forward to moving to Three Fields and having some time to unpack and get ready for our new arrival but she came a little earlier than expected!”
The couple had previously been living in a two bedroom cottage in St Michaels and needed to move to a bigger home in readiness for becoming a family of three. They were impressed with Three Fields and were able to take a step up the property ladder thanks to the Government backed Help to Buy scheme. Alex says: “Without Help to Buy I don’t think we would have been able to upgrade to a four bedroom house. We had our old property to sell but because we only needed a small deposit we were able to secure a much bigger home than we would have been able to afford otherwise.”
The couple knew they wanted to move to Tenterden to be close to Alex’s business which is based in the town. They fell in love with the Forstal house type at Three Fields as soon as they saw it and haven’t looked back since. Alex and Abi are particularly pleased with how the layout of their new home suits their current lifestyle. Alex said: “We have more space for visitors and the open plan kitchen and dining area is ideal for when we’re entertaining family and friends. We also love the frontage of the house with its double bay windows; it looks really well presented.”
Alex and Abi have also been delighted with our customer service. “The sales executives have been absolutely fantastic," says Alex. "As well as helping us with the entire buying and moving process, they have also helped to spread the word about my company to other residents and visitors. I’ve seen an increase in enquiries and it’s had a really positive impact on business. Abi and I are loving our new lives as parents and have found our forever home at Three Fields.”
We provide a helping hand to Tenterden Folk Festival with a £500 donation
We provided a cash boost for the 25th Tenterden Folk Festival by donating £500 to sponsor the English Barn Dance at the event.
The four-day festival, which took place from Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th October, hosted a variety of events that showcased traditional English folk music as well as examples of the genre from around the world.
Alan Castle, Director and Trustee of Tenterden Folk Festival, says: “I’d like to say a big thank you to Taylor Wimpey for their generous donation to the Tenterden Folk Festival. It’s thanks to support from organisations like Taylor Wimpey that local events such as ours can continue to bring together the diverse community of Tenterden. We try to keep the festival’s events free or keep charges as low as possible so people in all circumstances can enjoy folk music.
“We are passionate about showcasing the history of English folk music and we’re also very proud to have had individual performances this year by members of the local Nepalese community playing their own traditional folk music, as well as Eastern European dancers performing classic Slovakian dances.”
Jason Stokes, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South East, says: “We pride ourselves on further enriching the communities we build in, so it was a real privilege to be able to make a donation to the Tenterden Folk Festival.”
Our Eggstravaganza campaign helped a children’s hospice in Sittingbourne!
We helped Demelza Hospice Care for Children in Sittingbourne to spread a little Easter cheer after donating 78 Easter eggs.
The charity, which has two hospices – Demelza Kent in Sittingbourne and Demelza South East London in Eltham – offers expert one-to-one care to children up to the age of 19.
The donation was all part of our national Eggstravaganza Campaign during which Taylor Wimpey employees donated Easter eggs to charities, homeless shelters and foodbanks across the UK.
Emma Middleton, Head of Events at Demelza Hospice Care for Children, says: “We are very grateful to Taylor Wimpey for this kind donation.
“It was great to be able to provide Easter eggs for the children and families we care for and they really appreciated the gesture.
“We’re tried to collect as many eggs as possible from our supporters for a range of fun Easter activities which took place over the holiday period, and this donation was a fantastic contribution to that.”
Jason Stokes, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South East, says: “As a considerate, responsible housebuilder we are committed to supporting the communities in which we build our new homes.
“Demelza Hospice Care for Children does such a vital job within the local area and we were really pleased to be able to support it.
“We hope our Easter gift helped to make everyone receiving care at the hospice, and their families, feel included in the festivities over the holiday weekend.”
Our donation helps hospice charity for children
Demelza Hospice Care for Children has received a donation from us to help provide vital care for seriously ill babies and children.
We have donated £500 to the charity to help fund expert nurses and care assistants who support children with life‑limiting or life‑threatening conditions.
Claire Ellis-Waghorn, Acting Director of Voluntary Income at Demelza, says: “As a charity, and not part of the NHS, we must raise over £10.5 million each year to continue providing care to families living in East Sussex, Kent and South East London.
“Taylor Wimpey’s kind gesture will ensure that Demelza can be there from the start, during day‑to‑day family life, times of crisis, and bereavement – not just for children and their parents, but for the wider family too. Every year we deliver this specialist care to hundreds of babies, children and young people.”
The charity has two hospices – Demelza Kent in Sittingbourne and Demelza SEL in Eltham – where children up to the age of 19 receive expert, one-to-one care. This includes respite and symptom management, as well as life-enhancing therapies and facilities such as a hydrotherapy pool and a soft play room.
In East Sussex, the charity offers a hospice at home service, providing care and support in the comfort of a child’s own home.
Claire adds: “Taylor Wimpey has previously donated some of their showhome furniture to one of our charity shops and approached us to offer further support. We’re extremely grateful as it helps validate the work the hospice does in caring for special children.”
Jason Stokes, Regional Sales and Marketing Director, says: “We’re honoured to be able to help Demelza Hospice Care for Children and support this wonderful charity and the fantastic work it does.
“It’s very important to us that we support the communities where we build our new homes, and helping the hospice to continue providing its services can make a difference to so many local children and their families.”
Tenterden Cricket Club is bowled over by sponsorship
We’re proud to announce that we’ve made a contribution to the local community of Tenterden before we even start work at our brand new development in the town!
Tenterden Cricket Club will be sporting fresh kit for the new season after securing a sponsorship deal with us. We’ve donated £2,500 to the club, which has been used to purchase the team’s training and playing kit for the 2015 season, while as part of the agreement a Taylor Wimpey banner will be on display at the club’s ground.
Tenterden Cricket Club in their new kits alongside our Sales Executive Ella Bishop.
Tevis Knight, Tenterden’s First XI vice-captain, says: “It’s fantastic for us because every cricket player loves new kit, like a footballer loves new boots. It’s nice to have a change and refresh the kit for a new season."
“We’re really grateful for such an established, big company like Taylor Wimpey to come forward and make such a generous donation.”
The move comes at a big time for the club, who earlier this year were selected as the ‘showcase club’ by NatWest CricketForce, a national initiative run in partnership with the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Kent Cricket and Jewsons that saw Tenterden receive funding to improve their facilities.
“It’s allowed us to tarmac our car park, put in a pathway leading from the car park to the pavilion, buy a new scoreboard and build a new fence,” Tevis adds. “It’s been a busy few months and, together with this sponsorship from Taylor Wimpey, it’s turning into a really big year for us.”
Jason Stokes, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South East, says: “Grassroots cricket is a major part of any community so we are more than happy to support Tenterden Cricket Club over the next four years."
“We hope the players enjoy wearing their new kit and wish the club every success in what is a clearly a very important year for them.”
If our planning application for the ‘TENT 1A’ development is approved, we and our development partners Welbeck Land will provide a number of contributions towards the local community as part of the proposed scheme. Details of these contributions will be agreed with the relevant local authorities at a later stage.