Happy December everyone! We can’t believe how this year has flown by and now we are counting down to Christmas! So much has happened over the past 12 months, so we wanted to take a look back at all the fantastic projects and activities that Action Hampshire has been involved in across the county. We’d like to give a huge thanks to the passionate Hampshire VCSE sector for their tireless efforts in everything from tackling local health inequalities to promoting safe and warm communities. Let’s fire up the 2025 time-machine…
The Hampshire Changemakers Awards
We are kicking off the countdown by taking you back to February when we held our first ever Hampshire Changemakers Awards. We had been inundated with nominations for individuals, businesses, and organisations doing incredible work across Hampshire. The awards crowned 11 fantastic winners in 10 categories.
Follow this link to check out the full list of winners from the inaugural Changemakers Awards.
We are so excited for the awards to return in January 2026. Nominations close soon on 14 December, so don’t miss the chance to gets your in and help us celebrate the work of Changemakers across Hampshire!
Follow this link to read more about the Hampshire Changemakers Awards 2026
Communities Against Cancer
What a year it’s been for the Communities Against Cancer team. They celebrated 5 years of this incredible project which included supporting over 131 communities, running more than 54 cancer awareness workshops and awarding a staggering £403,000 in grants!
The team have built strong relationships with VCSE organisations and health partners across Hampshire, Dorset, and the Isle of Wight and in March they hosted the Communities Against Cancer spotlight event to celebrate the work of all the local communities who have been involved.
But they aren’t stopping there! With the great news recently that the project will continue, there will be more grants available, workshops and events to attend in 2026.
Follow this link to read more about the project
SOUP
The next highlight of the year was our SOUP events. After a successful first event in 2024, we brought SOUP back for a second year, this time announcing three brilliant winners who all pitched their ideas and were voted for by an audience, taking home £500 each to get their project off the ground.
Our three winners were the Anonymous Climbing Club project which supports mental health and addiction recovery through the power of climbing. Plus You Limited who ran 11 weeks of relaxing, feel-good Tai Chi for Thornhill’s older residents, and Shatki who created safe spaces for South Asian women through yoga, crafts, coffee mornings and health workshops to boost confidence and wellbeing.
Follow this link to read more about the SOUP events in 2025
Let’s Be Smokefree Hampshire
In the second half the year we launched our exciting new project Let’s Be Smokefree. Funded by Hampshire County Council’s Public Health this project will empower VCSEs to support their communities to stop smoking by offering workshops, grants of up to £2000, and direct support across Hampshire!
In October Claire Vincent from the team appeared on That’s TV to talk about the great work this project will be doing, and we held our first online session in November to get the ball rolling. There will be lots more coming from this project next year. Stay tuned for further workshop dates coming your way soon and let’s help Hampshire go smoke free!
Follow this link to read more about the Let’s Be Smokefree project
Rural Housing Enabling
It’s been an exciting year for the housing team. March was our rural affordable housing spotlight event which focused on the new housing scheme being built in Curdridge Parish. The event included a tour of the almost finished homes and invited along Parish Councils and community groups who were interested in delivering a housing scheme in their areas. The Curdridge scheme was finished in August delivering 8 new affordable homes which are prioritised for people in housing need with a local connection to the Parish.
In September we held our Roots and Roofs: Building Rural Futures event in Brockenhurst, where we explored how communities, councils, and housing providers can work together to deliver homes that meet local needs. With two further online sessions hosted in October and November.
In September, Claire Morgan from the team appeared on BBC Politics South. Interviewed by Hampshire Reporter Emily Hudson. Claire talked about the misconceptions of affordable housing and how Action Hampshire’s work finding rural exception sites benefits village communities.
Ending the year on great news we learned the Curdridge development has been recognised by the CPRE (The Countryside Charity) as the ‘Best Housing Solution’ and are thrilled to announce that the project has now been shortlisted for a highly coveted Hampshire Choice Award!
Follow this link to read more about the Rural Housing Enabling project
Action Hampshire Membership
Membership that makes a difference! Action Hampshire offers members amplification through social media and newsletter promotion, networking through events and our basecamp, discounts on job and event postings and access to exclusive training.
This year we launched our monthly breakfast meetings where members could join our CEO Nicky Judd to share ideas, connect and collaborate with others over a virtual cuppa.
We celebrated amazing work through our member of the month spotlights across our communications and we held training sessions on coaching, the power of PR, the anatomy of social media, and impact measurement and applying for grants to support and upskill the sector.
With more events, training and opportunities to connect coming next year, we look forward to working with you all further in 2026!
Follow this link to read more about the Action Hampshire membership opportunities.
Safe and Warm Communities
It has been a busy year for our Safe and Warm Communities project. The team have been upskilling VCSE organisations across Hampshire and beyond to support their beneficiaries in dealing with real energy issues.
Over the past 12 months 2,210 households have benefitted from the project. Along with attending lots of events and running 11 online energy awareness workshops, the team signed up 586 people for the Priority services register, distributed 179 Carbon Monoxide alarms and referred 262 households to additional support services, including debt advice and home energy assessments.
Follow this link to read more about the Safe & Warm Communities project.
Action Hampshire Impact Report
In October we launched our Impact Report. In an ever-changing landscape achieving our mission to help VCSEs and their communities be strong, connected and equitable has never been more important. Through ‘The Action Hampshire Way’ we are thrilled to report that 78% of leaders who engaged with our development programmes feel better equipped to work collaboratively. This focus on connection drives organisational resilience and greater collective impact across service areas.
The full impact report is available now to download from our website. We’re proud to have been able to collaborate with extraordinary people on projects we are passionate about. We hope this passion is evident throughout the report and that you enjoy reading about all the hard work undertaken by our team, partners, local VCSEs and the amazing communities we work with.
Follow this link to download the ful Action Hampshire Impact Report 2024/25
Wishing you all a relaxing and festive time over the Christmas period and we look forward to working with you in 2026. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from us all at Action Hampshire!
