After a successful third quarter, our Chiswick team are sharing the good fortune with their community

With a large number of successful property transactions taking place since the lockdown was lifted for the property industry in mid-May, Paul Cooney MNAEA, the Director of Horton & Garton Chiswick decided it was important to share the good fortune.

It is so often the case that local charities aren’t widely known about and, without the ability to run the usual fundraising events, for them 2020 has been especially tough. The two charities Paul has selected for donations this quarter are both very worthy causes:

The Upper Room

Established 20 years ago, the work carried out by The Upper Room is incredibly important. From providing free meals, to offering employment support and guidance, they help socially disadvantaged individuals by improving their self-esteem, health and enabling economic independence.

Their services include one-to-one counselling, group therapy, self-improvement workshops and support finding a job . With this support including travel assistance to attend interviews and the provision of essential clothing or equipment for new roles: The Upper Room helps to make individuals more employable.

They also run a driving scheme that provides driving lessons and enable individuals to gain a driving licence which, in turn, further opens up new job opportunities.

It could be that an individual needs help with debt management, Universal Credit or accommodation – The Upper Room help as much as they can and where necessary, connect with relevant specialist organisations.

The Upper Room represents the very best of our local community by addressing the need right here on our doorstep, they also help individuals across the rest of London. In providing training and skills that will prove useful for the rest of their lives and immediate help such as hot meals, they provide rounded assistance to disadvantaged individuals.

To mark a successful quarter, Paul donated £2,500 to The Upper Room.

On the donation, Upper Room Chief Executive Nicky Flynn said: 

“We are incredibly thankful for the generous donation of £2,500 from Horton and Garton. Like everyone else, the Covid-19 crisis is causing huge challenges, but despite that we offered a remote service all the way through lockdown and re-opened at the end of July, albeit offering a reduced service. 

We are hoping that we can continue and slowly and safely increase what we do so that we have greater capacity ready for those challenging winter months.  

A big thank you again for supporting us and for your help over the years, as I am sure this time has not been easy for you either.”

Chiswick house and Gardens

Beloved Chiswick House & Gardens is particularly important to the local community as a place to escape the busyness of the High Road and enjoy the peace and serenity in its grounds. Many key Chiswick events are also run there year-round, and it is a popular venue for private events and weddings.

Though they continued to receive the grants guaranteed by Hounslow and English Heritage, throughout 2020 Chiswick House has lost over 60% of their income. Having remained open to allow locals to enjoy the beautiful sanctuary of their grounds they have continued with essential maintenance for the upkeep of the gardens, lake and trees. 

Lord Burlington’s 18^th century Palladian Villa, situated in 65 acres of multiple award-winning gardens, has served as a welcome escape from the office and chance to pause and reflect. To that end Paul wanted to ensure that Horton & Garton Chiswick were able to contribute, to help make up the shortfall in income.

A donation of £500 and sponsorship of a brick on the 50,000 Lego recreation of the stunning Palladian Villa will hopefully go some way towards ensuring the beautiful house and gardens are open and able to be enjoyed by the local community for many, many years to come.

Tell us about your local charity!

Paul is keen to support these types of charities moving forward on a quarterly basis, based on the success of the office. If you have a suggestion for a local charity deserving of a donation, please do get in touch by email to social@hortonandgarton.co.uk.