At Camphill Village Trust, we’ve spent more than 70 years supporting people with learning disabilities and autism to live lives filled with purpose, connection and choice. We don’t believe in ordinary lives, we believe in extraordinary ones.
When you spend time in one of our communities, you can see how much our people love their home, their work and their friends. You can see their confidence and happiness.
But all this wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our supporters.
The power of philanthropy
From long-term giving to one-off donations, philanthropy plays such an important role at Camphill Village Trust.
It helps us respond to growing demand for our services and ensure the people we support can access meaningful activities, develop skills, and live well.
In 2025, we were deeply touched by the generosity of our donors, whose support has already had a huge impact across our communities.
Opening doors through transport and connection
In October, one donor gave an incredible £30,000 to purchase a new minibus for our Stourbridge community, alongside an additional £2,000 to support its ongoing upkeep.
This much-needed minibus is already helping the people we support get out and about more easily – whether they are taking part in activities, attending appointments, or simply enjoying day trips that help them stay connected to the wider community.
The same donor also gave £2,000 to help us launch a new social enterprise at Ashfield Gardens. This project will see fresh produce grown on our social farm sold locally, creating new opportunities for the people we support to build skills, gain confidence and share the fruits of their work with the community around them.
Creativity, confidence and nature-based skills
In July, leading UK property services company Bell Group generously donated a brand-new kiln to our Croft Community in Malton.
This kiln has been a game-changer for our nature-based arts and crafts workshops, giving the people we support the chance to explore pottery inspired by the natural world.
But it’s about so much more than creating beautiful objects. Activities like these help people learn new skills, connect with others, and build confidence, self-worth and a sense of purpose.
This is exactly what our Nature-based Therapies and Skills programme is designed to do – creating more opportunities for people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health conditions and other support needs to live healthy, active and more independent lives. And we couldn’t run this programme without your generous donations.
Supporting healthy, active lives
We recently received an incredible £20,000 donation for our Delrow community, which will be used to support healthy activities within the community, funding both important everyday expenses (like transport for day trips), and big, exciting initiatives like our annual summer Festover celebration.
These experiences play a powerful role in helping people feel included, promoting active lifestyles and nurturing a community which strongly prioritises its own health and wellbeing. Against the backdrop of significant health inequality faced by people with a learning disability, autism and mental health support needs, gifts such as this are both powerful and vital.
Community support in action
In November, we were overwhelmed by the response to the Amazon wishlist for our Café on the Corner in St Albans. We received more than 30 donations, along with coverage in the local paper.
The wishlist featured practical items to help the adults we support learn, thrive and keep our much-loved community hub running smoothly – from kitchen gadgets to baking tools.
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Every item plays an important role in supporting adults with learning disabilities to build skills, confidence and independence. From preparing food and serving customers, to creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere, the café is a place where people can be proud of their work and feel part of everyday community life.
Creating extraordinary lives, together
As our Philanthropy Manager Amy Nash explains: “We’re deeply grateful to our philanthropic donors whose generosity helps make extraordinary lives possible. By working together and embracing a strategic, focused approach to giving, we can maximise impact and ensure every contribution helps create lasting opportunities within our communities.”
Can you support our extraordinary work?
Demand for our services continues to grow across England, and there’s always more we want and need to do.
If you’d like to help us create more opportunities like these, your support could make a real difference to people with learning disabilities or autism. If you can support our Charity:
Donate directly to Camphill Village Trust and help more people live extraordinary lives.
Contact Philanthropy Manager, Amy Nash, to discuss how you can support our communities through a donation or grant. Email: amy.nash@cvt.org.uk | Phone: 07907 708558
