Every year, staff put forward local charities to nominate as Mendip District Council's Charity of the Year. Staff have chosen to support Orchard Vale Trust as their Charity of the Year 2022.

Since 1985, Wells-based charity, Orchard Vale Trust has been supporting adults with learning disabilities to live life to the full, through community support, day services and residential homes.

More than 1.4 million people with learning disabilities live in the UK and almost all of them face some type of barrier to living life to the full.

The charity goes beyond supporting adults with learning disabilities, they provide opportunities for people to overcome the barriers they face as a result of their disabilities.

Orchard Vale Trust also runs a number of projects for over 18s to access, including:

• Therapeutic projects: such as drumming or weaving
• Health and Wellbeing project: such as football and walking groups
• Communication Projects: such as IT courses and self-expression through art and dance
• Skills for Life: such as money handling and cookery skills
• Employability schemes: such as our cafe or our Community Gardening Project

Learn more about Orchard Vale Trust here: www.orchardvaletrust.org.uk