About Us

Vision, Values and Objectives

Hillmorton and East Rugby Together (HEaRT) community group is for the benefit of all residents in Hillmorton and East Rugby*.

Our vision is to support the community, develop a community network and to protect and enhance the use and appearance of public spaces for the benefit of all residents.

Our charitable objectives:

To promote for the benefit of the inhabitants of Hillmorton and Houlton, Paddox and Eastlands (the Community) and the surrounding area the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the condition of life of the said inhabitants.

 Our core values:

• Community

• Inclusivity

• Sustainability

*East Rugby includes the areas known formally and colloquially as: Eastlands, Paddox, Dunsmore, Abbots Farm, Hillmorton, Lower Hillmorton, Southfields and Houlton

Trustees

Jill Dwyer (Chair)
Faye Padfield (Treasurer)
Collette O'Connor (Secretary)
Nicola Cayford
Jonathan Dwyer (Designated Safeguarding Lead)

If you would like to join the Trustees, please contact us via email at volunteers@heartcg.org

For all other volunteering opportunities please see our Volunteers page.

History of the Group

The Hillmorton and East Rugby Together Community Group (HEaRT) was founded in January 2021 after the amalgamation of the Friends of East Rugby Group and Hillmorton and Abbots Farm Community Group.   Both groups were active in Hillmorton and the surrounding areas and recognised the potential to become stronger, more influential and have more impact for the benefit of the community by joining forces under a new name. 

The Friends of East Rugby Group was founded in 2016 in order to protect and enhance the use and appearance of open spaces for the benefit of all residents, FERG mobilised  volunteers to get involved in caring for and enjoying their local area. Over four years the group improved the environment by planting trees and flowers, organising regular litter picks and bringing The Friendly Bench to Hillmorton in 2020. The group raised funding for local improvements and  brought people of all ages together through community events and activities. 

The group also installed a defibrillator near Hillmorton Green.

The Hillmorton and Abbots Farm Community Group was founded in March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and first national lockdown, Abbots Farm resident Faye Padfield put a call out on social media for local volunteers to assist in supporting the vulnerable and elderly in the area.  Moving rapidly, a small committee group formed, recruited over 100 volunteers and provided practical help in the form of shopping, prescription collections, postal errands and friendly phonecalls.  The group matched residents with volunteers and provided help to over 300 residents during the first lockdown.  

After securing grant funding from Warwickshire County Council,  the group proceeded to expand their offering over the summer by supporting residents in the area more broadly.  In conjunction with St John the Baptist Church, the group hosted  2 summer fun days in August 2020.  A jumble trail was organised in October, providing residents the opportunity to sell any unwanted goods, allowing buyers the opportunity to exercise and connect with others in a social distanced way.  People were also encouraged to light up their homes for a special "Festival of Lights" trail in December.

The group has distributed over 200 craft activity packs for children over the summer and autumn, and assembled a "resources library" of books, jigsaws and games which could be borrowed by local residents.