This Small Charity Week (22–29 June), Derbyshire Dales Council for Voluntary Service (DDCVS) is proud to be part of a national celebration of the vital role small charities play in communities across the UK.

This year’s campaign, Small charities. Big impact., shines a light on the difference small charities make every day — supporting people, strengthening communities and creating change where it matters most.

Across the Derbyshire Dales, small charities and community groups play a crucial role in tackling isolation, improving wellbeing and supporting local people in often hard-to-reach rural communities. DDCVS supports 271 member organisations, providing governance advice, development support, funding guidance and distributing vital grants to help local groups thrive.

In 2025/26 alone, DDCVS worked directly with 200 organisations, most of them small and volunteer-led, and administered almost £233,000 in funding to 79 community projects, helping to create connection, opportunity and support where it is needed most.

In a large rural district like the Derbyshire Dales, with dispersed communities, limited transport links and an ageing population, the role of local charities is especially important. DDCVS helps ensure these organisations can operate safely, sustainably and effectively, while also strengthening links between communities, local authorities and the NHS.

As part of Small Charity Week, DDCVS is celebrating the impact of its members and highlighting the essential role they play in building stronger, more resilient communities.

Member Spotlight  

Community Spirit Rekindled at Elton Jubilee Playing Fields

In early 2024, the team at Elton Jubilee Playing Fields began exploring ways to bring their small rural community together following the long pause of activities due to COVID-19. Many traditional events hadn’t restarted, and there was a growing desire to reintroduce opportunities for the community to connect and socialise.  After consulting with residents, there was overwhelming support for the creation of a community boules pitch—a new focal point where people of all ages could gather, socialise, and play.

With helpful guidance from DDCVS on funding options, the group applied to the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund and Foundation Derbyshire. After refining their application with support from the DDCVS team, they were thrilled to receive £1,900 from the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund and £2,324 from Foundation Derbyshire—plus an impressive £526 raised by the community itself.

Now the work began to build the pitch, buy some boules and engage the community.   Experienced players have volunteered to give lessons to newcomers, and there’s even been talk of forming a team to enter a local league!

Elton Jubilee Playing Fields said  ‘We contacted DDCVS in April 2024 to apply for a grant from the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund and cannot speak too highly of the advice and support we received from them.  They were always there at the end of the telephone to answer queries and over the time we established an excellent working relationship with them.  The dream of a boules pitch has now become reality, and we have this amazing new facility’.

The pitch was officially opened on 23^rd August 2025.

Carsington Sailability

In May 2025, DDCVS supported with an A4A application, advising on changes to the draft.  Carsington Sailability was awarded £19,000 from the Lottery. Their goal is to purchase a Hawk 20 boat, which will allow them to take 5–6 people out on the water at a time. The vessel is fully accessible, ensuring inclusive participation. Their current boat is no longer safe or fit for purpose, making replacement essential.

When we met again in December 2025, the group had already raised £24,000 towards the total cost, estimated between £32,000 and £40,000. We shared details of potential funders, including BDDF, Foundation, Leek Building Society, Bernard Sunley, and the Clothworkers Foundation. They applied to the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund in Jan 2026 and have been awarded a capital grant towards the new boat.

Cubley Village Hall

With the help of grants from the National Lottery, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and the Better Derbyshire Dales Fund and others improvements have been made to the hall which has been in the village since 1935. The trustees have organised regular events from the village pantomime, quizzes and bingo nights, to children’s parties at Easter, Halloween and Christmas. Our monthly Pop-Up Pubs have proved massively popular. Most of our events are attended by forty or fifty people, in a village that has only 100 or so residents and our annual Music Festival attracts over 100 visitors.

Social connectedness and cohesion has improved, and people who have recently moved into the village have commented on how the hall is an important centre of life in Cubley enabling them to integrate into the community. The number of volunteers that we can call on for help has increased enormously.

Hathersage Befrienders – winner of the DDCVS Annual Award 2025

Hathersage Befrienders was established in 2015 with the aim of relieving the isolation and loneliness of vulnerable people in Hathersage by establishing, maintaining and developing a visiting befriending service. It provides regular social contact and support to more than twenty people, of all ages and abilities.  It also supports people residing in Moorland House – a residential care home in Hathersage.  One person commented: “My Befriender has, with her companionship and friendship, enabled me to live an enriched life. She is my friend, and I am blessed.”