Boost for charities across the region

James Hopkins, executive chairman of Hopkins Homes (Image: Archant)

Award-winning Suffolk housebuilder Hopkins Homes is marking the sale of its 5,000th home by doubling the size and widening the geographic area of the Hopkins Charitable Fund.

This will create a fund of at least £500,000 for local charities in Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire over the next five years.

Making the announcement James Hopkins said: “As a company, we are proud of our strong track record of supporting local communities and charities. But as we grow as a company, we want to grow our charitable giving too. This year we have reached a new milestone for the company - the sale of our 5000th home. We will be announcing more details of this shortly but to mark this occasion we are doubling the size of our existing Charitable Fund to support local communities across our operating area.

“From our first project 20 years ago to the present day, high quality design has been at the heart of each of those 5,000 homes. But this commitment to design is not just about building beautiful homes, it is also about ensuring that we design houses that local people can be proud of, whether they live in them or not, and play our part in creating strong, cohesive communities across Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

“The expansion of the Hopkins Charitable Fund is an extension of this desire to contribute to the local community, not just through the quality of what we build but by supporting charities and good causes to help vulnerable members of our society. As a regional housebuilder many of the causes and charities are familiar to me on a personal level and I am delighted that through this fund we will be able to support them even more.”

The Fund will support charities and community groups across Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and will be administered by the respective Community Foundations of each county. There will also be a public vote for one-off larger donations every two years in each county and a separate pot of money within the overall fund to support the work of War Memorials Trust to help repair and conserve East Anglia’s war memorials. In total the fund aims to give out over £100,000 in grants each year.

The award-winning housebuilder has a strong track record of charitable giving with long standing connections to local events, charities and organisations. The Hopkins Charitable Fund was originally set up in 2016 to support good causes in Suffolk with support from Transforming Suffolk Investment Fund as a £250,000 endowment.

The charities are chosen to complement Hopkins Homes’ housebuilding programme by supporting organisations and activities that help bring communities together and support the most vulnerable. Recent grants and donations include awards to the Halesworth

Volunteer Centre, Fresh Start new beginnings, Waveney Domestic Violence and Abuse Forum and the Stowmarket Food Bank.

Stephen Singleton of Suffolk Community Foundation said: “Suffolk Community Foundation has worked closely with Hopkins Homes for many years – helping make donations of over £125,000 since January 2000 with the rate of grant making increasing rapidly since the launch of the new charitable fund last year.

“Some very significant grants have been distributed to local groups and charities and these have made a real difference already. We are delighted that this support will be expanded still further with the new £500,000 Hopkins Charitable Fund set to deliver at least £175,000 to charities across Suffolk over the next five years. We are looking forward to helping make this happen.”

Grants from the Hopkins Charitable Fund will be made every six months in Suffolk and annually in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.