Cash handed out to worthy groups

(Text from the Article in the Bridgwater and Burnham Times)

TWO worthy bodies with connections to Bridgwater, Burnham and Highbridge are among nearly 20 groups set to receive hundreds and thousands of pounds in our Cash for Communities giveaway.

The Bridgwater and Burnham Times and Somerset Community Foundation invited grant applications from Sedgemoor-based groups and projects that would use the money to benefit everyone.

The first to receive a welcome boost is Bridgwater Lions International. The Lions movement has always fought to prevent or relieve blindness and will get £3,728 towards some remarkable gadgets. About 50 blind people will get their talking newspapers on USB flash drives.

The second success story is the Highbridge-based Nathan Edwards Tennis Academy. The scheme was set up in the memory of a talented Burnham youngster who died in a car accident on the way to Bristol for training.

The academy will get £3,000 to aid its efforts towards becoming a charity or a community amateur sports club to broaden their services to a wider area.

Bridgwater and Burnham Times editor Philip Welch met with judges at the end of March to decide how funds up to £30,000 would be dished out.

His fellow judges were trustees Chris Davies, John Bowman and Jane Lock, along with grants manager Jocelyn Blacker, business development manager Julie Patterson and Katherine Armstrong of the Community Council for Somerset.

Mr Davies said: “Working with the Bridgwater and Burnham Times has helped us to reach organisations we would otherwise not have heard about. At our meeting we were able to award £24,264 to 15 organisations across Sedgemoor.”

A handful of other applicants will be dealt with by the foundation’s regular meeting.

Mr Welch said: “The real joy has been helping those in the community during these tough financial times. They are the true spirits of the community and deserve our financial help.”

The other grant winners are: Arthritis Care, Bridgwater, £250; Bridgwater Flower Show Society, £575; Burnham Disabled Swimming Club, £1,000; Burnham-on-Sea Folk Fest, £750; Highbridge War Memorial Trust, £2,000; Huntspill & District Cricket Club, £500; IT For The Terrified, Cheddar, £750; Middlezoy Cricket Club, £2,500; Outdoor Challenge, Bridgwater, £1,851; Sedgemoor Street Pastors, Bridgwater, £2,000; Shed Youth Cafe, Burnham, £2,000; Time 4 Sedgemoor, Bridgwater, £2,860; Wedmore in Bloom, £500.

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