Earlier Funded Projects
Refurbishment of the Bells of Pilton Church
Following a clapper failure in 2018, a survey revealed the need for repairs to the bell frame of St Mary's Church, Pilton. Nearly 50 years since the previous repair work, it was found to require urgent cleaning and painting, particularly of the foundation joists.
After delays raising the £18,000 needed through grants, donations and the sponsorship of bellringers, and the intervention of Covid in 2020, work finally began in March 2021 using bellringing volunteers to save cost. The Pilton Green Man CIO gave a grant of £500 towards the work.
The bells were heard again from mid-May 2021 restoring the well-known Sound of Pilton for years to come.
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Trip to Kira Farm in Uganda
Awards of £200 each were made to two students from Pilton Community College, Lucy Lake and Matt Steele, to help with funding of their trip to Amigos' Kira Farm Development Centre near Kampala, Uganda. During their trip in October 2018 they learnt new skills and worked in the local community.
Click on the logo to learn more about Amigos.
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'Voice in a Million' Concert
A third grant award of £350 was made in 2018 to the Pilton Bluecoat Academy Choir for a trip for 35 pupils to sing at the ‘Voice in a Million’ concert at Wembley Arena in March 2019. This annual 
concert promotes school singing and raises awareness of the plight of children in care and the importance of adoption and fostering both in the UK and worldwide. It gave the children an opportunity to sing in an iconic arena, helped foster a love of singing and raised the profile of music and arts. At the same time it made a difference to less fortunate children than them and encouraged the sense of citizenship and community.
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Award to Two Members of the North Devon Sinfonia
Two members of the North Devon Sinfonia, winners of BBC2's Great Orchestra Challenge in 2015 and the amateur orchestra representing the UK at the Seoul International Community Festival in September 2017, were awarded a small grant to help towards the very high cost of the trip.
The orchestra needed to raise £38,000 and found itself £6,000 short. As well as their own fund-raising, financial support has come from Devonshire Living, TDK Lambda, West End Precision, Bray Leino, Philip J. Milton and there have been grants by Rotary Clubs, the Bideford Bridge Trust and Fullabrook and private donations. Our award was made because each orchestra member themselves then had to raise an additional £122 to close that funding gap.
In the photograph the orchestra is seen with Mr Park, the organiser of the Festival. Whilst in Seoul, the orchestra gave two performances in the Sejong Chamber Hall and the Sejong Grand Theatre alongside other orchestras from around the world. Dan Kent, the NDS Treasurer said, "The Festival was a fabulous example of community music-making with participants from school children up through all ages to senior citizens. It was about people coming together from across the globe to celebrate together, share a love for music, exchange cultural ideas and build bridges of friendship". 
And all this happened despite the backdrop of impending military and political threats. Several of the North Devon Sinfonia members also participated in an amazing collaborative international orchestra made up of players from around the globe. Click on the above link to follow the orchestra on Facebook or click on this photograph of them on stage in the TBS Art Theatre in Seoul to watch one of their performances - the Ralph Vaughan-Williams English Folk Song Suite No 1 - Seventeen Come Sunday.
The CIO is pleased to have been able to help, in even such a small way, facilitate the experience and look forward to hearing of further beneficial outcomes in North Devon.