Supporting Our Charity
We are deeply grateful for every donation we receive; your generosity helps towards making a positive impact in young lives.
Whether through a one-off gift or ongoing support, your contribution helps us improve existing facilities and bring new projects to life.
Despite all the challenges, our team remains passionate and committed to walking alongside young people with a Christ-centred approach – sharing the Gospel in fresh, creative ways and drawing inspiration from the natural world around us.
Below you’ll find some of our current projects in need of support, where your donations can make a real and lasting difference.
Thank you for your support.
Take A Seat
Can you spare for a new chair?
Thousands of children and young people gather in our meeting rooms each year; it’s where they come together and share stories of adventure, learn about the Christian faith and grow in life-changing ways.
But, after years of faithful service, our chairs have reached the end of their journey and need replacing. They’re tired, falling apart and are uncomfortable (see third image below!). We need 100 new conference chairs to keep welcoming people in comfort and safety for years to come. The particularly chairs we need are strong and robust and the parts can be replaced easily, being made in the UK, making them sustainable and long-lasting against intensive use.
We’re hoping to raise the funds we need by March 2026. All funds we raise will go towards buying new chairs. If we don’t reach our goal, we’ll purchase as many chairs as funds allow. If we exceed our goal, (which will be amazing!) we’ll purchase more chairs for the other accommodation wings.
Our Goal
- Number of chairs needed: 100
- Cost per chair: £80
- Total target: £8,000
How YOU Can Help
We’re inviting people to either buy a chair for Heatree or to just simply donate what they can towards the cost of a chair. Every donation, big or small helps towards creating a more welcoming place for children and young people.
- £80 buys 1 chair — a place for someone to sit, listen, and be inspired
- £160 buys 2 chairs — a space for a young person and their friend
- £800 buys 10 chairs — a whole row for learning and discovery!
How to Give
- Online – click on the button below
- By Post – please send cheques payable to Heathercombe Brake Trust with ‘New Chairs’ as the reference.
- By Bank Transfer – see details below
Creating a More Inclusive and Accessible Heatree
Heatree is committed to being a welcoming centre for all. Despite efforts over the years, our facilities remain fragmented and difficult to access, particularly for guests with mobility, visual, or communication needs. Even though our main house is a wonderful feature in our landscape, we are fully mindful that the building is almost 200 years old with different levels, entrances, doorways and corridors.
An accessibility audit and guest feedback have made it clear that meaningful change requires significant investment and a holistic plan. There are many ways in which we would like to improve accessibility across the whole site, but this is a long term and sizeable undertaking which requires extensive planning and investment. With this in mind, the project is incremental.
Phase One focuses on transforming the Heatree wing, our largest accommodation area, along with improving wayfinding. We want to create safe, independent access by installing ramps, widening key corridors, creating new wet rooms, enhancing visual accessibility, and purchasing essential equipment for guests who are visually and hearing impaired. We also want to produce clear, accessible signage in-house and develop visual timetables to support guests with learning disabilities.
With your support, we can remove current barriers and ensure every visitor experiences the inclusive environment we aspire to provide at Heatree. We have already fundraised for and purchased an all-terrain wheelchair which enables disabled guests to explore and enjoy Dartmoor with the excitement and exhilaration of reaching places that were previously inaccessible to them.
What we hope to achieve for Phase One is as follows:
- Convert the current ensuite bathrooms in rooms 11 and 13 to a wet room, optimising the lift access to these rooms from across the landing.
- Widen the corridor in the main reception foyer to improve access to the Centre for wheelchair users.
- Install a wheelchair accessible ramp for the main entrance.
- Install a wheelchair accessible ramp to access Heatree lounge and connect the access to Heatree patio for improved access to/from the main dining room.
- Paint the interior doorways in Heatree wing to improve access for visually impaired guests.
- Purchase equipment such as rubber threshold ramps and matting for improved wheelchair access and flashing fire alarm heads and vibrating fire alarm pillows.
- Purchase a CNC machine to produce accessible signage in-house and incrementally replace the existing signage. This will greatly improve how guests with learning disabilities navigate the Centre and grounds.
- Purchase a subscription to Widget Online to produce visual timetables and activity programmes.
How to Give
- Online – click on the button below
- By Post – please send cheques payable to Heathercombe Brake Trust with ‘Improving Accessibility at Heatree’ as the reference.
- By Bank Transfer – see details below
Quantick Bursary
This bursary is in memory of Elizabeth Quantick (1911-1995) who officially started the Heathercombe Brake Trust charity in 1956.
As a Christian charity focused on the physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing of children and young people, we want as many individuals as possible to have the opportunity to hear the Gospel message. For many young people, a visit to Heatree may be one of the very few occasions where they get to learn about the Christian faith. The purpose of the Quantick Bursary fund is to provide discounted places for under 18s to enable them to come to Heatree, who might otherwise not get the opportunity to do so.
A residential trip can influence and inspire a young life in the long term and remains an important and meaningful instrument in youth ministry. We want to enable more youth leaders and teachers to bring their groups to Heatree, creating the potential to inspire hope in young minds and transform lives, whatever background, physical ability or socio-economic circumstances an individual may have.
We use our unique setting to provide engaging and inspiring experiences through outdoor adventure activity sessions, where we teach young people key life skills and how they can navigate the challenges they face, through God’s love and grace, whilst learning how to value and respect the natural world and the people around them.
How to Give
- Online – click on the button below
- By Post – please send cheques payable to Heathercombe Brake Trust with ‘Quantick Bursary’ as the reference.
- By Bank Transfer – see details below
How to Donate
Donating to us is simple, you can donate directly to our bank using the details below:
Bank account: Heathercombe Brake Trust
Sort code: 51-81-21
Account number: 53438590
Feel free to email us at admin@heatree.org to let us know, and if you’d like your donation to be used for a particular project, please indicate this in your message.
Or send a cheque made payable to ‘Heathercombe Brake Trust’ to Heatree Activity Centre, Manaton, Devon TQ13 9XE.
Other Ways to Support Us
Make a one-off donation or set up a regular gift on our Stewardship page:
Donate via Easy Fundraising every time you shop online. It’s free to use, simply start your online shopping at easyfundraising.org.uk then shop as normal through 6,916 retailers. Our charity will receive a small donation for every purchase:
Thank you for your support!