Portland Port picks charity beneficiaries for 2025
Portland Port is getting behind good causes and charities over the coming year as part of its support for the local community.
Every year the port selects recipients to benefit through donations, sponsorship and support in kind.
This year they include the First Weston Brownies and the Second Fortuneswell Brownies, the Expia offender rehabilitation charity, National Coastwatch, Portland Foodbank, Portland Sea Cadets, Portland United Under 14s’ girls football team and The Bus Shelter Dorset, which helps rough sleepers.
The port is also supporting the B-Side Arts Festival and the Portland Business Awards again this year as well as commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day and the 85th anniversary of the sinking of the HMS Foylebank in Portland Harbour by German dive bombers in June 1940.
Also lined up for this year are the port’s popular heritage tours of its historic building estate as part of Heritage Open Days and Dorset Architectural Heritage Week. In addition it will support bird ringers for their annual count on its breakwaters.
Bill Reeves, Portland Port chief executive, said: “As a local company, we believe in giving back to help the area thrive in which so many of our employees and their families live as well as those of businesses based at the port.
“There are numerous charities, community groups and worthy causes, including many unsung heroes, who deserve our support.
“We’re very pleased to be able to help out in a variety of ways, including donations and sponsorship of various events and activities.”
Portland Port’s roll call of support in 2024 included a D-Day 80th commemoration lunch, B-Side Arts Festival, Weymouth College art students and Weymouth Sailing Club’s Youth on Boats group to which it donated a sail and engine.
Last year, with the permission and support of the port, volunteers carried out their 13th season of ringing birds on the harbour’s breakwaters.
They fitted rings to the legs of 79 great black-backed gull chicks – a species newly placed on the national red list of Birds of Conservation Concern (BOCC) register – and 16 herring gulls.
The port allocates sponsorship on an annual basis and calls for applications via the media in the autumn of each year. All applications are then considered by board members at the port’s December board meeting.
About 300 people are employed at the port by businesses based there, including 57 directly by the port itself. Its cruise call business contributes about £10m annually to the local economy.
