Recently I had the pleasure of visiting two charities with the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Dr Tim Fooks.

As a brief aside for those who haven’t come across the term before, a High Sheriff is a ceremonial and voluntary role. They represent the King in their county and support the work of local voluntary and statutory organisations. High Sheriffs do this by bringing people together and using the position's reputation to champion the voluntary sector's work. They also support the judiciary and recognise community heroes via the annual High Sheriff Awards.

At the Foundation, we’ve worked closely with the High Sheriffs in both East and West Sussex over the years, through administrative coordination of their grant making via the High Sheriff Fund (and awards) and identifying groups which they may not be aware of.

The people selected for the role have often spent their lives in service of their community, and Tim is no different, having been a GP in Sussex for much of his working life. Tim has also been High Sheriff previously in 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic. As a result, I relish the challenge of finding groups that our High Sheriffs have not previously heard of - and this month I had the pleasure of introducing Tim to the Garden Army CIC and the As You Are Centre.

The Garden Army is based at a farm between Crawley and East Grinstead and was set up to support people of all ages who are living with health and wellbeing needs. They provide therapeutic horticultural sessions and a non-judgemental space to meet other people. It’s a beautiful setting for people to work towards their goals or to simply get outside and harvest some vegetables!

The second organisation we visited was the As You Are Centre, a low-cost therapy clinic working with people aged 16 and up based in Southwick, as close to the West Sussex border as you can possibly get. We learned about their work with a school close by, the challenges people face to access therapy, and the day to day running of a therapy service.

These visits were a powerful reminder of the vital work taking place across West Sussex to support people's mental health and wellbeing. Both the Garden Army CIC and the As You Are Centre are making a tangible difference in their communities, often quietly and without recognition. It was a privilege to showcase their efforts to the High Sheriff, whose role helps shine a light on such essential initiatives. At the Foundation, we’re proud to continue connecting community groups with advocates who can help amplify their impact.

You can find out more about some of the other organisations we support here.