Creating warmth, connection and giving back

The Hearth is the heart of The Green House.

It is where our social impact, charity partnerships, education projects, team volunteering, community events and staff wellbeing come together.

Horwood House is a profitable business, but giving back to the local community is a central part of how we operate. We donate money, time, space, skills, food, prizes and professional expertise.

Our approach is simple: we want to be a good neighbour, a responsible employer and a useful partner to the communities around us.

 

 

Partners with Purpose

We work with a wide range of charities, schools, colleges, suppliers and community organisations.

Our partners include:

  • Crisis UK

  • Willen Hospice

  • Urban Bee-lievers

  • BBOWT

  • Lindengate Charity

  • MK College

  • Women Leaders UK

  • Medical Detection Dogs

  • Ride High

  • WheelPower

  • Mursley United Football Club

  • Furzedown School

  • MacIntyre School

  • Local schools and village organisations

  • Buckinghamshire Business First

  • Bucks Skills Hub

  • Destination MK

  • MK Business Leaders Partnership

Partnerships are central to our sustainability approach because meaningful change rarely happens alone.

 

 

Crisis UK: Skip a Service, Donate a Meal

Our partnership with Crisis UK is one of our most important guest-facing initiatives.

For guests staying two nights or more, we offer the option to skip daily room servicing. For every night a guest opts out, Horwood House donates the equivalent cost of a hot meal to Crisis UK.

Since becoming independently owned, we have donated over £30,000 to Crisis through this initiative.

This connects the comfort of a hotel stay with the belief that everyone deserves a safe place to sleep.

The initiative also helps reduce unnecessary water, energy and chemical use, making it both an environmental and social impact project.

 

 

Willen Hospice Platinum Partnership

We are proud to be Platinum Partners with Willen Hospice.

Our support includes fundraising, food donations, hospitality and raffle prizes. Most recently, we supported the Willen Hospice team after their Base Camp Everest walk by offering afternoon tea for 23 volunteers and staff.

Our chefs have also created 350 canapés for a black-tie fundraising event and will be donating 750 sausage rolls for a Midnight Walk to support the hospice.

We also purchase items from Willen Hospice charity shops as part of our Package with a Purpose, giving second-hand items a new life in our events while supporting the charity.

 

 

The Team: Two Paid Charity Days

Every member of the Horwood House team receives two paid charity days each year.

This gives our team the opportunity to support causes that matter to them and take part in practical community work.

Our team has supported charities through activities such as helping in Crisis charity shops, painting rooms and building outdoor fences for organisations including Medical Detection Dogs.

Staff also take part in sustainability projects across the estate, from biodiversity work to local school partnerships.

We believe staff engagement is essential. Sustainability should not sit in one department. It should be understood, owned and improved by the whole team.

 

 

Staff Wellbeing and Development

The Hearth also includes the way we support our own people.

Our staff benefits include:

  • Competitive salary

  • Two paid charity days

  • Annual staff Christmas party

  • 28 days annual holiday including bank holidays

  • Pension

  • Training and development opportunities

  • Free staff meals

  • Free parking

  • Discounted food, beverage, spa, hotel and leisure membership

  • Free birthday meal

  • Long service rewards

  • Recommend a friend scheme

  • Uniform

  • Employee Helpline

  • Opportunities to take part in community and sustainability initiatives

We encourage personal development, including NVQs, apprenticeships, internal promotions and external training. One of our apprentices has gone on to win awards.

Our teams are updated through quarterly staff communication meetings, emails, notice boards, sustainability champions and training opportunities. We also work with partners such as BBOWT and Urban Bee-lievers to raise awareness of biodiversity, climate and conservation.

 

 

Schools, Skills and Young People

Education is a major part of our community work.

We support young people not only through donations and sponsorships, but through time, access, mentoring and real-world experience.

Our work includes:

  • Garden projects with local schools

  • Biodiversity work with children with special educational needs

  • Urban Bee-lievers students working with our chefs and beehive

  • Furzedown School restoring hidden garden pathways

  • A World War Two bunker time capsule project

  • MK College student projects

  • Hospitality careers insight visits

  • Chef mentoring through Menu Masters

  • Young Women’s Leadership Course with Women Leaders UK

  • University lectures by our owner Karim and General Manager Caroline

The Menu Masters Competition is a 2026 initiative for Year 9 students across Buckinghamshire, delivered by Bucks Skills Hub and Buckinghamshire Business First in partnership with chefs from Horwood House and Atul Kochhar. Students design restaurant concepts, including menus, marketing and technology, with finalists mentored and competing at Horwood House.

This matters to us because our team gives more than funding. Our chefs, managers and senior leaders give their time, experience and encouragement.

 

 

Young Women’s Leadership Course

In 2026, we introduced a Young Women’s Leadership Course in partnership with Women Leaders UK.

The three-part course is open to college and university students, as well as other local hospitality businesses, and is designed to support young women in hospitality and leadership.

This forms part of our wider commitment to education, inclusion and opportunity.

 

 

Local Makers and Community Events

Our free Arts and Crafts Fair is now in its third successful year.

Held twice a year, it supports more than 60 local artisans and welcomes over 600 visitors, with exhibitors able to take part free of charge and the public able to attend free of charge.

We also support community events, school events, church events and village events through donations, raffle prizes and use of our grounds or meeting spaces where possible.

Prizes include afternoon teas, dinners, overnight stays, spa stays and beauty treatments, ranging from around £45 per person to £700 per person.

We have now included a giving allocation of £30,000 a year for donations, sponsorships, charity support and community initiatives.

 

 

Supporting Local Organisations

Horwood House supports a wide range of causes and organisations.

This includes:

  • Sponsoring Mursley United Football Club with full kits and hosting family events

  • Supporting Medical Detection Dogs through volunteering and refurbishment projects

  • Working with Ride High and WheelPower

  • Purchasing bird boxes and wildflower seeds from Lindengate Charity

  • Supporting Urban Bee-lievers through beehives and weekly estate projects

  • Supporting BBOWT’s work to improve local ecosystems

  • Sponsoring SME Bucks and Milton Keynes Awards

  • Sponsoring Buckinghamshire Business First Awards

  • Becoming sponsors of MK College Student Awards for the Art Department

  • Donating raffle prizes for Alzheimer’s and Dementia fundraising through our wider network

We also support the charity partnerships of the businesses we work with, helping our wider network raise funds for causes important to them.

 

 

Heritage, Culture and Local Ecosystems

We want guests to understand the place they are staying in.

Information on local heritage, culture and ecosystems is available through our guest directories. Across the hotel, we also celebrate the history of the estate. Restaurant 1911 is named after the year the Manor House was built, Harry’s is named after Head Gardener Harry Thrower, and many of our meeting and syndicate rooms carry historical significance.

We work with Bletchley Park to support our local heritage offering, and we have a dedicated history wall near reception sharing the story of Horwood House, including mementos from its past.

Our World War Two bunker project with Furzedown School brings together local history, education and sustainability, giving students the chance to contribute to the estate’s story.

 

 

Governance and Responsibility

Our sustainability and community work is supported by policies, targets and governance.

We have:

  • A documented environmental sustainability mission statement

  • Corporate Social Responsibility policy

  • Modern Slavery policy

  • Diversity and Inclusion policy

  • Green travel policy for staff, including car-sharing

  • Sustainability champions

  • Staff sustainability training

  • Departmental sustainability KPIs

  • Environmental and community targets

  • A giving allocation of £30,000 per year

  • Signed the Pledge to Net Zero / Race to Net Zero

  • Signed the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge

We are not perfect, and there is always more to do. But The Hearth reflects our commitment to doing business with care, accountability and community at the centre.