Seven charities and Community Groups from the local area are sharing £5,500 from Bath Building Society’s Annual Charity Awards scheme, plus a further three 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 seventh 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.
Chief Executive Dick Jenkins said: “I am really pleased that since we launched the Awards seven years ago the number of applications has increased year on year and this year is no different!
“Through the programme we aim to help as many community groups and charities as possible. I’d like to thank my fellow Judges for spending their time to help with the Awards; they are the Mayor, Lynne Fernquest of The Bath Chronicle and Imogen Sellers from the BBC. It was a tough competition but we found our winners in the end!”
Imogen Sellers, local BBC Newsreader, said: “It was great to be a judge although very hard to choose between so many worthy causes. I hope the winners can make great use of the money to continue the good work they do.”
One of the projects benefitting from an award of £1,500 is the Zenith Youth Theatre Group. It is a theatrical society run entirely by volunteers and has a ‘no audition to join’ policy for all young people aged between 13 and 21 who demonstrate an enthusiasm and commitment to the group’s aim of musical theatre to the highest standard.
Anyone within the age range can be actively involved in any aspect of theatre production and presentation.
Chris Jones the Chair of the Zenith Youth Theatre Group, said: “Winning £1,500 in our golden anniversary year marks a significant milestone for Zenith Youth Theatre Company. The money given to us by Bath Building Society will go towards sound and lighting equipment at our rehearsal venue, St Marks Community Centre in Widcombe.
“The equipment will be available to other users of the centre and will enable groups to stage mini plays, dance and professional presentations with quality sound and lighting. The installation is scheduled for August and will benefit all members of the local community for many years to come”.
Full list of winners:
- The Zenith Youth Theatre, Bath – £1,500
- The Trauma Recovery Centre, Twerton – £1,000
- Working in Support of Holidays (WISH), Bath – £1,000
- The Bath Toy Library – £500
- Odd Down at Play, Bath – £500
- BridgeCare, Bath – £500
- The Family Centre, Bristol – £500
- Bath Mind – a pair of Balloon Tickets
- Larkhall Sports Centre – a pair of Balloon Tickets
- 1st Radstock Scout Group – a pair of Balloon Tickets
