Fundraising
Maple Village WI is a charity and we raise most of our running costs by selling our jam and chutney. We also commit to fundraising for a local charity each year which is chosen by our members. To do this, we hold regular fundraising events such as quiz nights and afternoon teas. Since 2010, our total cash donations to our chosen charities has been an incredible:
London Air Ambulance (Charity 2025-26)
This year we are supporting London Air Ambulance, which provides urgent care to critically injured patients across London.
We also donated Christmas gifts, toiletries and other items to the local Women’s Refuge.
BRITE Box (Charity 2024-25)
BRITE Box is part of the Voices of Hope charity. It provides recipe kits with all ingredients and an illustrated recipe to families identified by schools or youth groups as being at risk of food insecurity. BRITE Box aims to bring families together around food, building skills and confidence to enjoy cooking and eat well. We were delighted to be able to donate £1,000 to such a worthwhile cause.
We also made a financial donation to the Save The World Club.
Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness (KCAH) (2023-24)
KCAH run a number of projects locally, aimed at tackling homelessness within the borough of Kingston-upon-Thames. We held two quiz nights during the year, which raised an amazing £1,650.
Princess Alice Hospice (Charity 2022-23)
We supported our local hospice, based in Esher, providing patients and their families with the best care and support before, during and after death. We made a donation of £1,000, mainly raised by our annual quiz night.
Samaritans Kingston (Charity 2021-22)
We were proud to be able to support Samaritans Kingston as they adapted their services during the pandemic. Despite the disruption to our own activities, we were able to make a donation of £1,500.
Staywell Kingston (Charity 2020)
In 2020 we raised funds for Staywell Kingston, an award winning charity who support older people so that they can live independently, with dignity and enjoy being part of their community. Our Annual Quiz Night's profits went towards our donation and we were delighted to present Staywell with a cheque for £1,000.
We were also delighted to be able to offer extra support during 2020 to local charities working to help those affected by Covid-19. We were able to make financial donations to the Kingston Hospital Charity and Voices of Hope who were making meals for the most vulnerable residents in our area. Our members also made scrubs, masks and other PPE for our local services.
Joel Community Services (Charity 2019)
In 2019 we fundraised for Joel Community Services, an award winning shelter in Kingston which provides accommodation, support and a family community environment for their guests. Our fundraising activities included our popular Annual Quiz Night and a Gin Afternoon Tea. The total amount raised was an incredible £1,550!
Past Projects
We are proud to have supported many causes in the past. In addition to financial donations, we have knitted twiddlemuffs for dementia patients, made reusable sanitary packs for girls in Africa, donated food to the local foodbank, donated Christmas decorations and gifts to local women's refuges and regularly collect stamps to donate to the London Air Ambulance and other charities. Here are just some of the charities we have supported.