Community Activities
Three community projects making a positive impact on people’s quality of life in the Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset area have each received a financial boost thanks to the first round of Nicholas O’Hara Funeral Directors’ 2026 Community Fund.
The recipients are:
- Loneliness Together – the award of £450 will go towards training volunteers to lead their Chitter Chatter Clubs and create more meeting places.
- Hope Housing – they received £500, which will fund 20 starter packs to support previously homeless people in settling into their new accommodation.
- Dingley’s Promise – the sum of £2,467 will enable them to complete their sensory garden, a special place where the most vulnerable children in the community can go and play.
Cheques were presented by business principals Anthony O’Hara and Natalie O’Hara, and Funeral Director Jon Austin of Nicholas O’Hara Funeral Directors.
Anthony said: “We are delighted to be able to offer support to these caring projects in the local area. All these organisations are helping to make a real difference to people’s lives, providing much-needed support to local people.
“Our Community Assistance Programme highlights the positivity that’s happening right on our doorstep, and we are looking forward to seeing these projects continue and grow.”
The team at the Nicholas O’Hara funeral directors launched their grants programme in February with the aim of the providing financial support for community-based projects that benefit people who live within three miles of any of their seven funeral homes in Wimborne, Verwood, West Moors, Westbourne, Poole, Ferndown and Tuckton.
To qualify, projects had to be non-profit and align with one or more of the fund’s categories; Health, Education, Employment Opportunities and Poverty or Social Deprivation.
The second cycle of their Community Fund grants will open for applications on June 29.
For more information about the funding, visit our Community Fund page here.
