About Impact Buckingham

Born in Buckingham. Backed by Buckingham.

Who We Are

Impact Buckingham is a registered charity (Charity No. 1216036) supporting families in Buckingham and the surrounding villages who are facing financial hardship. We started with festive hampers at Christmas, and we’re expanding to support families through the summer holidays too.

We were founded in December 2025 at The Mitre Pub in Buckingham — a community effort that quickly grew into something bigger. Today we operate as an independent charity, governed by a dedicated Board of Trustees who live and work in the community, committed to safeguarding the welfare of everyone we support and to operating with full transparency.

Our Story

A note from Peter Edwards, Founder and Chair of Trustees

My name is Peter Edwards. I founded what is now Impact Buckingham at the end of 2025, while I was landlord of The Mitre. Many of you will also know me from our family business, Edwards Surfacing, in Great Horwood. I grew up here, went to school at The Royal Latin, and I’ve always held the belief that a town like ours looks after its own.

A couple of years ago, I was listening to a radio report about the difficulties families were facing during the festive season. It struck a nerve. While we were planning festive pints and parties at the pub, neighbours just streets away — people whose children go to school with our children — were dreading the cost of Christmas Day.

I decided The Mitre had to do something.

The idea started simply: send out a few hampers to locals who needed a boost. But once word got out, it snowballed. Local business leaders stepped up to pledge their support, and the regulars at The Mitre rallied round — they didn’t just donate money, they brought in mince pies and chocolates and gave up their evenings to help build and deliver the boxes.

In December 2025, we registered the charity with the Charity Commission and delivered our first festive campaign within four weeks.

Since then, the charity has grown beyond its original home at the pub. We’re now operating independently as Impact Buckingham — the same mission, the same community, the same promise that every pound donated goes directly to local families. The pub gave us our start; the community keeps us going.

Reaching the right families

The biggest challenge we faced was identifying who needed help — without guessing, and without causing any embarrassment.

The fairest way, we decided, was to work directly with local schools. School leadership know their families best, and by offering hampers to the families of children eligible for Pupil Premium, support goes exactly where it’s needed — guided by the professionals who know the circumstances.

This is a principle we hold firmly: Impact Buckingham never holds personal data about the families we support. All identification of need is handled by our partner schools. Families never have to come forward or ask.

Our impact

We launched with a single goal: to put a proper Christmas dinner on the table for local families facing financial hardship. In four weeks, our community came together to make it happen.

75 festive hampers were distributed to Pupil Premium families through partner schools across Buckingham — each one containing fresh meat from a local butcher alongside vegetables, festive trimmings, chocolates, crackers and all the Christmas extras.

The campaign was supported by 63 Gift Aid donors, 81 online donations, generous direct contributions and a Carols at The Mitre collection. Combined with goods donated by The Mitre Pub, our community raised the equivalent of £4,800 in cash and kind.

Every penny went into the hampers and into our reserves for 2026 — no administrative costs, no salaries. We carry £1,813 forward to support our planned grants and voucher distributions to Pupil Premium families throughout 2026.

Our commitment

Our goal isn’t to conquer the world. It’s simply to make sure that in Buckingham and the surrounding villages — the families who use our town’s schools — no child goes without a proper Christmas dinner, and no family is left struggling alone through the summer holidays. We’re here to look after our corner of the world.

Our Trustees

Impact Buckingham is governed by a Board of Trustees who live and work locally and give their time voluntarily.

Peter Edwards

Founder and Chair of Trustees

Peter grew up in Buckingham and went to school at The Royal Latin. He kept The Mitre for nine years, turning it into a live-music venue and a real-ale pub worth the walk, and it was there that Impact Buckingham started — 75 hampers packed and delivered within four weeks of the charity registering. He built the office and admin side of the family firm, Edwards Surfacing, from scratch, and now builds software for the trades through EdwardsApps. He brings that same practical streak to chairing the trustees, and works to a belief he has always held: a town like ours looks after its own.

Beth Trembath

Trustee

Beth has lived in the Buckingham area for the past 20 years. She has a background in project management and accounting, advising local government on the design and implementation of waste and recycling schemes. She spent a number of years working at Bourton Meadow Academy in Buckingham as the Finance Manager, before moving to the Campfire Education Trust, which runs six local academies. Beth’s connection with the schools gives us a crucial link to the people who know best about how we can support local families.

Seonad McHugh

Trustee

Seonad has also lived in Buckingham for many years and is a well-known member of the community. She has a broad range of experience across both the private and public sectors, currently working as a probation assistant. She has worked with Peter for the past ten years at both The Mitre and at Edwards Surfacing. She brings a depth of local knowledge to the role and has been instrumental in delivering the festive hamper campaigns.

Safeguarding We take our responsibilities seriously. We have a designated Safeguarding Lead and clear policies in place to protect the welfare of the children and adults we support. Our Safeguarding Policy, Constitution and Grant Making Policy are all available to download at the bottom of this page.