Two Oxfordshire charities have been awarded vital funding from a £125,000 cash giveaway which was decided by readers.
The Cash for Charities drive was launched in September by the charitable arm of the Oxford Mail’s parent company, The Gannett Foundation.
The awards made annually through the Gannett Foundation support charitable community projects all over the UK. Each year it gives out thousands of pounds in grants to charitable organisations for life-changing projects.
READ MORE: Oxford Times competition winners share their joy
Newsquest’s Midlands region, which includes Oxfordshire, was allocated £20,000 of the £125,000 total cash give away, with readers deciding how the money was shared between eight shortlisted charities.
Readers collected tokens from our newspapers which were then sent to collection points across the region.
Each token collected was used to allocate cash to the nominated charity, for example if a charity collected 50 per cent of the tokens they received 50 per cent of the funds.
The two Oxfordshire charities which received funds from the drive were SeeSaw, who received £4,305.12, and Asylum Welcome, which received £1,212.12.
Judith Mulligan, director of SeeSaw, said: “All of us at SeeSaw were delighted to have been chosen as one of the charities for the Oxford Mail 'cash for charities' award this year and we have been touched and grateful for all the support we have received from Oxford Mail readers who have collected the vouchers.
“£4,305.12 is a very generous amount of money and a lovely early Christmas present for us. It has been such a tough year for everyone, and so many people have experienced the death of a loved one this year.
“The families we support have grieved for people they love, often in isolation, when lockdown restrictions were in place. We have continued to provide our service online, by phone and in person, when permitted, because it is important for bereaved families to know they are not alone.
“We would like to thank everyone who voted for us and who supports our work and our thanks to the Gannett Foundation for their support of local charities.
“We will put the award to very good use providing grief support for children and young people throughout Oxfordshire in the new year.”
Mark Goldring, director of Asylum Welcome, said: "We appreciate the generosity of the donors and the Mail’s readers. The grant will help us support the newly arrived Afghan families staying in Oxfordshire over the holiday period, make sure the children have outings and presents, and help everyone to continue to learn English and prepare for life and work in the UK."
Newsquest’s CEO Henry Faure Walker said: “Readers understand the causes that matter in their local community and they are best placed to make the choice. Everyone at Newsquest is delighted to be giving our readers the opportunity to influence how this year’s Gannett Foundation giving will be spent.“
-
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.
Share