But what exactly is it? Who does it help? What has it accomplished? All excellent questions! So, we thought we would give you an update on the past year at MCT and use that as a chance to tell you a little bit about what it is, what it does, and why we so value your support.

Established in 2010, Monument Community Trust was set up to support small local Charities and Community Groups through a combination of financial and business support. Since that time, it has helped more than 100 voluntary organisations (the logos of some you can find alongside this article), and all of this they do at no cost to the organisations themselves – wow! 

The service and help that MCT provides is specifically tailored to the organisation’s hopes, aims and of course challenges. Whether it is as simple as needing a fresh perspective on strategy, support with some local private/public/voluntary connections, recruitment or help with raising funds, MCT are on hand and happy to give their time.

Of course, all of this is only possible with the help of voluntary donations received and time offered. These fund the work of MCT and ensure its contributions to the people it
supports are completely free. When you see Jennings sending its proceeds to MCT, that money is really going to the up-andcoming Charities and Community Groups in Oxfordshire, and of course in turn the amazing people that it supports. From all of those people, Jennings and MCT want to take this opportunity to say a great big thank you for all the support given so far. 

So, that brings us up to the present day, and we thought we would have a quick review of 2017 at MCT and all that they managed to accomplish. It’s been a busy year! MCT supported over 20 local charities in 2017, helping many people from disadvantaged and vulnerable groups across the county. 

They were also very proud to have been involved in some great local initiatives, including the Oxfordshire Charity and Volunteer Awards, The Great British Bike Off, The Oxford Funding Network, Sobell House’s “40 Club” and the Business And Community Awards in Didcot. 

With everyone’s generous help and support, MCT are now planning their second Charity Bowling evening on Thursday 19th April at Hollywood Bowl, as a thank you and celebration of the wonderful work done by the voluntary sector.

They’re also now starting to talk with local charity StyleAcre, to see whether Jennings can provide a work placement (or two) for people with learning difficulties. No doubt 2018 will be another fantastic year for MCT and those that it supports, and we look forward to keeping you up to date in future so that you can see how and where your generous donations are used, and what events we have in the future that you may like to support. mct-oxfordshire.org