Nine charities and community groups from the local Bath area are sharing £7,000 from Bath Building Society’s Annual Charity Awards scheme.
Plus a further four organisations have received a pair of Bath Building Society hot air balloon tickets which can be used to raise funds.
The Awards; now in their eighth year, were established to support as many local initiatives as possible from the growing number of requests that the Society receives each week asking for support.
This year the building society also have a new category of Charity of the Year and this Charity will be supported by the Society for a year with any fundraising that it does.
Chief Executive Dick Jenkins said: “The Awards are very important to us and are a way for the Society to “give something back” to our local community.
“It is amazing the work that these organisations do and the local people that they help; and on such little funding, I’m just glad we can help!
“I am really pleased how the number of applications continues to increase year on year and this year is no different! I’d like to thank my fellow Judges for spending their time to help judge the Awards; they were the Deputy Mayor (Councillor Lisa Brett), Alan Keeling, President of The Rotary Club Bath, Imogen Sellers from the BBC and my colleague Tiffany Hardie-Evans.
“It was a tough competition but we found our winners in the end!”
One of the projects benefitting from an award of £1,000 is Bath Gateway Out and About and it has also been chosen to be the Society’s Charity of the Year (July 2014 – July 2015).
The Charity provides help and support to people aged 18+ with a learning disability; which is extended to include their families, dependants and carers. It also promotes awareness of learning disabilities and encourages independence amongst persons with a learning disability
Becky Morgan is the club leader and development officer of Bath Gateway Out and About which is a weekly club for adults with a wide range of learning disabilities and provides support enabling its members to access social and leisure activities.
Becky, said: “We, the volunteers and all the members of Bath Gateway Out and About are absolutely delighted that Bath Building Society is awarding us £1,000.
“This will be put to very good use as it will go towards the running costs of our very special club that our members so very much enjoy. We are all so very grateful for this award.
“We are also very honoured that Bath Building Society has decided to take us on as their chosen Charity and we very much look forward to an eventful year ahead”.
Alan Keeling, President of The Rotary Club Bath, said: “I was delighted to be asked to help with this year’s Bath Building Society Charity Awards judging.
“The task was made very difficult owing to the number of worthy charities we had to choose from. I hope the money received will help all the successful charities to continue their good work over the coming year.
“As Bath Gateway Out & About is the Society’s Charity of the Year, it will also be the main charity for The Bath Rotary Fireworks display being held at The Bath Recreation Ground in November, our main sponsor this year is Bath Building Society which is their 39th year of sponsoring the event”.
