Frimhurst Family House is essential to ATD Fourth World projects as a place for us to offer community and family support, including well-being stays for families and adults experiencing poverty. Since 2020, through the Community Matters Partnership, many volunteers have helped the Frimhurst team renovate and care for the grounds of this beautiful Victorian manor house.

Every other month for the past four years, the team at Frimhurst Family House has welcomed scout groups and volunteers from various companies, thanks to Community Matters Partnership (CMP), which helps enterprises connect with charities. During ‘Community Action Days’, volunteers come to Frimhurst to help with painting, gardening, plastering, or any other construction work the team has prepared for them.

In March 2024, ATD Fourth World and CMP celebrated this partnership by unveiling a plaque at Frimhurst Family House.

One of the most ambitious projects has been the renovation of Cedar House, which when finished will provide temporary accommodation for ATD Fourth World team members and volunteers who help to host well-being breaks for people in poverty.

CEO of CMP Simon Jarvis said: “Our members have been doing wonderful work on the ground and in Cedar House, helping develop this wonderful facility.”

Invaluable help which benefits the people we support

Last year, volunteers’ help amounted to a total of 900 hours, which is invaluable for the Frimhurst team of only 5 members.

“It allowed us to dream bigger, to engage in some work we might not be able to do without the groups of volunteers.”

— Murielle, ATD team member in Frimhurst

Thanks to volunteers, the nine acres of grounds are kept tidy, Cedar House has now been varnished, potholes get repaired, along with many other maintenance projects carried out over the years.

Consistent maintenance work in Frimhurst means ATD can welcome people for holiday stays in the best conditions possible, so that they can relax away from the daily pressures of life in poverty. “Families really benefit from it”, Murielle says. “We are very grateful for all of the work which makes this place so lovely.”

Would you like to support our work, both in Surrey and in London? You can volunteer or donate, to help us continue to tackle inequalities in the UK.