SINCE the Gannett Foundation began ploughing money into good causes across Oxfordshire at the end of the 1990s thousands of lives have been changed for the better.

Once again applications have opened for slices of funding up to £10,000 each which are being given away to good causes by the Oxford Mail's parent company Gannett Media.

As charities across the county are urged to submit their cases we take a closer look at some of the best success stories as a result of the annual scheme.

In December 2012, the Gannett Foundation awarded Oxford charity Yellow Submarine a grant of £10,800 to open a cafe in Park End Street.

The charity – which has offered trips and activities to people with learning disabilities since it was founded in 2009 – wanted to open the cafe to offer young adults with learning disabilities a place to work or gain work experience.

Just over three years after it opened in April 2013 the cafe now employs 12 young adults and sits as the number one rated coffee shop in Oxford according to review website Trip Advisor.

The Park End Street cafe regularly receives five-star reviews from customers and is also ranked 34th out of 503 places to eat in the city.

So successful is it, Yellow Submarine has even been able to open a second cafe in Witney.

Head of finance and compliance at the charity, Kate Sankey said: "We are so grateful to the Gannett Foundation, the grant helped us get off the ground and kick start the cafe which has grown and grown ever since.

"It has enabled us to give more opportunities, both socially and in the workplace, to so many young adults with learning disabilities.

"I would recommend any charity or organisation to apply for a grant – it has helped us so much."

She added: "It's wonderful to be number one on Trip Advisor - we have such wonderful customers who come and use us regularly and it's fantastic for our staff."

In 2014 Mabel Prichard special school in Blackbird Leys needed funds to replace its deteriorating playground equipment.

The Gannett Foundation awarded the school £4,500 to construct a new children's wheelchair swing at its Cuddesdon Way base.

The grant also went towards a wider fundraising project which provided a new sensory garden and integrated roundabout that children at the school have been enjoying since it opened last summer.

The Blackbird Leys Adventure Playground had been closed for two years until a £6,590 Gannett Foundation grant brought it back to life in 2011.

The playground, on the corner of Blackbird Leys Road and Cuddesdon Way, was transformed; a play worker was employed for the first time and every summer up to 60 children a day use its four-week play scheme.