
For the love of Essex
29th January 2025
Love is in the air for Valentine’s Day in February, but many people also show their affection for Essex and their community throughout the year.
Essex has inspired several couples to demonstrate their passion for Essex by supporting charities and voluntary groups in the county by setting up a charitable fund with us.
They enjoy deciding together where to channel their charitable giving and can see firsthand the difference their philanthropy makes to causes close to their hearts and homes.
Working with ECF is an easy way to support your community and the causes that matter most to you. It is estimated there are around 10,000 voluntary groups working in Essex that are providing a wide range of help to people in need. These include activities for children and families, mental health support for young people, respite for carers, shelter for people who are homeless, social groups where people of all ages can meet, and keeping community facilities running for the benefit of local residents.
Whatever your area of interest, ECF can work with you to ensure your gift stays in Essex and makes a difference to the lives of local people.
Two couples who are showing their commitment to Essex are:
Simon Hall and Nicki Bolton – NS Community Fund
Simon Hall and Nicki Bolton have both been involved as trustees and volunteers in supporting local charities and community work for many years, with a particular focus on homelessness and social exclusion. They established the NS Community Fund with ECF in 2019 to focus on these areas of need.
Simon and Nicki, who live near Colchester, both lost their spouses to cancer and were introduced to each other by mutual friends.
Simon, a former High Sheriff of Essex, is also a trustee with ECF and is very aware of the varied needs in the county and voluntary organisations that are tackling local issues.
Nicki set up and managed a homeless lunch facility. She is also a trustee of a private charity that has supported causes close to her heart including Cancer Research and Outpatient support and education and literacy.
Nicki and Simon said: “The fund we set up with ECF brings together our combined interests in supporting our local community in a direct and tangible way.
“It has benefited from ECF’s Proceeds of Crime Matched Funding Scheme set up by Essex Police, so the grants awarded from our fund will have a community safety focus, recognising how homelessness and social exclusion contribute to these issues. We plan to grow our fund with proceeds from the sale of our accumulated clutter of many years.”
Grants from their fund include £2,500 to the Sanctus charity in Chelmsford, helping to fund the salary of a full-time staff member working in their café.
Sanctus have been helping disadvantaged people in Chelmsford for several years. The café acts as the frontline service of the organisation, providing a safe warm place for those in crisis to seek comfort, food and a listening ear, connecting those who need further support to their Hub.
The Fund also supported Ormiston Families and their Breaking Barriers project, an early intervention programme delivered throughout Essex, that supports vulnerable children and young people aged 4-19 years who are affected by the imprisonment of a close family member.
Sandra and Bill Hollis – Hollis Family Fund
Living in Essex for three decades inspired Sandra and Bill Hollis to set up a charitable fund to give something back and create a legacy for the county.
The couple, who live in Mundon, near Maldon, established the Hollis Family Fund with ECF in December 2019.
Sandra, now retired, has had a successful two-stage career. She grew up in North Wales and, after graduating from Durham University in 1978 with a degree in modern languages, she joined Reuters Ltd. Over the next 20 years she took on strategic business development and marketing roles.
The second stage of her career, after gaining a master’s degree in marketing, saw her in senior marketing and development roles in the academic world, at the University of East London and at Anglia Ruskin University, where she became Pro Vice-Chancellor.
Sandra joined ECF as a trustee in November 2017, so is fully aware of the positive impact the organisation makes by channelling grants from the funds it manages to support voluntary and community groups in Essex.
“My husband Bill and I got to know about ECF through some friends,” said Sandra.
“I thought that my background and experience could be of help, and I became involved with ECF as a trustee.
“Having lived in Essex since 1988, Bill and I wanted to give something back and decided to start a fund with ECF. Our intention is to grow and develop the fund over time and leave a legacy here in Essex.
“One of the themes we are interested in supporting is community safety and our fund has already had the benefit of some match-funding from ECF’s Proceeds of Crime Scheme. We have been able to create our fund with full confidence in ECF, who make it so easy to get started.”
Sandra and Bill, who had his own international trading business, first met in London. On moving to Essex, their first home was in Thurrock where Sandra says they were given a very warm welcome by kind, generous and hospitable people.
“Over the past 30 years we have enjoyed getting to know this great county,” said Sandra.
“It has so much to offer, and we are still uncovering places, history and things we didn’t know about local communities. Being a trustee at ECF has given me an insight into local issues and the wide range of support that local charities give to people who are in need. We will be looking at the various areas we want to support over the coming years.”
Their grants include support for the charity Lads Need Dads based in Clacton, to run a reading mentor programme in Tendring Primary Schools for boys who have an absent father.
Some funds with ECF now act as a lasting legacy and tribute, when one member of a partnership has died:
Fay Cherry – Alan and Fay Cherry Fund
Alan Cherry CBE DL was founder chairman of Countryside Properties Ltd and was a strong supporter of ECF’s work.
After Alan passed away in 2010, his wife Fay, set up a charitable fund with ECF to continue their shared passion for supporting good causes in Essex.
Alan was an extraordinary man who achieved an enormous amount during his lifetime. He was a founder partner of Bairstow Eves which went on to become one of the largest estate agencies in the UK. During his early career Alan became interested in housebuilding and property development and in 1958 he launched Countryside Properties Limited which he successfully floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1972. His work led to him being awarded an MBE and a CBE for his services to Housing and Urban Regeneration.
Fay studied nursing in Portsmouth where she gained her State Registered Nurse qualification. After six years Fay decided to move to London where she joined British Overseas Airways Corporation (now British Airways) as an air stewardess and spent the next few years travelling the world on various long and short haul flights.
In 1971 whilst visiting friends Fay was introduced to Alan. They married in 1976 and in 1985 moved to Fryerning where Fay continues to live.
Grants from their fund support charities whose work is contributing to the environment, young people and education, as these were important issues to Alan. The Fund recently supported the Country Trust to run a 10-month food discovery programme for 90 pupils in a school in Basildon. The Country Trust, based at Moulsham Mill in Chelmsford, specialises in connecting disadvantaged children with the land, through sensory and educational food, farming and countryside experiences.
Tinneveld Family Fund
A chance meeting on a train introduced Joy Harvey to Theodorus (Theo) Tinneveld, who, two years later, became her husband of 48 years.
Joy’s family had been farmers in Essex for generations and her family lived in Elmstead. She liked farming but developed a love of dance at a young age, and which continued throughout her life. She ran a dance studio in Clacton, and also taught classes in Brightlingsea, Dovercourt, Elmstead and Wivenhoe, and keep-fit in Colchester.
Theo was born in Holland where his family ran a smallholding. In his early twenties Theo would come to England on a regular basis to improve his English. It was on one such visit in 1962 that he boarded a train at Harwich and sat down next to Joy who was travelling home after teaching a dance class.
Two years’ later they were married at St Peter’s Church in Colchester. They settled in Elmstead and ran Keelars Farm together, becoming the first farm to commercially grow and sell Discovery Apples.
As well as running the farm, Theo developed his interest in stocks and shares and became a member of Lloyds of London. Joy continued to manage her dance studio and classes, offered a riding stable for children of all abilities and was an active member of the local WI.
Theo and Joy spent 48 happy years together until Theo died in 2014. The fund in their name supports voluntary and community groups which are keeping people of all ages and abilities active and engaged, in and around the areas where Joy and Theo lived and worked.
Grants from their fund include £5,220 to The Friends of All Saints Church, Brightlingsea. The charity is focused on ensuring thatfuture generations will continue to experience the history and heritage of the church through varied activities such as art, culture and other activities.
The fund has also helped Wivenhoe Youth Choir, enabling a high-quality professional musician to run the choir and also to keep cost down for parents, to be as inclusive as possible for children from all social backgrounds.
If you enjoy supporting your local community and Essex is important to you, get in touch with ECF to discuss your ideas or how to leave a legacy. Call 01245 355947 or email Perry Norton, perry@essexcf.org.uk Find out more at essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk