Choose your favourite charities for share of Oxford Mail's £20k cash giveaway

Our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation, is providing £125k in cash to support local charities across the country and we are delighted to have a £20k share to give away in our area.

And we asked YOU to decide where this money should be spent. You nominated in your thousands and our editorial team chose a shortlist of eight charities from these nominations that will share in the £20k.

These are:

• SeeSaw, based in Merewood Avenue, Oxford
• Asylum Welcome, based in Magdalen Road, Oxford
• Wiltshire Air Ambulance, based in Semington, Wiltshire
• Swindon Women's Aid
• Malvern Special families in Worcestershire
• Stroud Beresford Group in Gloucestershire
• South Bucks RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) in Buckinghamshire
• Royal Berkshire Charity, based in Reading

Now we are putting the power to allocate the cash back into the hands of our readers – this month, you are invited to collect tokens from our newspapers which can then be sent to collection points across our region or posted.

Each token collected will then be used to allocate cash to the nominated charity – so if your favourite charity collects 50 per cent of all the tokens collected, it will receive 50 per cent of the £20,000!

Collection points are:

• The Mid-Counties Co-op, Old Marston Road, Oxford OX3 0JR
• Waitrose, Old High Street, Headington, Oxford OX3 9HP
• Woodfarm Post Office, Atkyns Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 8RA
• Sainsburys, Templars Square Retail Park, Oxford OX4 3JP
• Marks & Spencers, Oxford Retail Park, Cowley, Oxford OX4 6XJ
• Martins McColls, Balfour Road, Blackbird Leys, Oxford OX4 6AG
• Court Candy shop, Woodstock road, Oxford, OX2 6HJ

Newsquest terms and conditions will apply where relevant to the grants process. Please visit newsquest.co.uk/prize-competition-rules. Personal data will be used by Newsquest and its agents solely for the administration of the grants process and will not be shared with any third party; our general privacy notice is at newsquest.co.uk/privacy-policy. This campaign will be published in multiple Newsquest publications across this Newsquest region. The eight charities chosen by the local editorial panel will be voted for by our readers. The value of the grant awarded to each of the eight charities will be calculated pro rata according to their share of the vote. Only original voting coupons will be accepted, no photocopies. The cash grants will be sent by BACS transfer. Grants are conditional on completion of the relevant project and a successful nominee charity may be required to evidence its use of the grant. The top eight charities selected for the vote will be contacted to provide additional information for entry into the readers’ vote. Should this information not be provided within the timescale provided then the editorial panel will select an alternative charity. The charity must be registered with the Charities Commission and have not received a grant from the Gannett Foundation in the last two years.

WHO TO CHOOSE?

SeeSaw: Helping grieving children to see a better future

Headington-based SeeSaw provides grief support for children, young people and their families in Oxfordshire.

Through appropriate support, SeeSaw can help to reduce the emotional, psychological and mental health consequences of bereavement.

Young people are then able to face the future with hope.

SeeSaw offers: telephone consultations to any parent or professional who is concerned about a bereaved child; home visits to families to assess their needs and talk about ways in which SeeSaw might be able to help; and tailored individual support for children and young people when needed. This often involves one-to-one sessions with a support worker and takes place in the child’s home.

For more visit seesaw.org.uk.

Asylum Welcome: Help and support for those fleeing torture, hardship and oppression

Asylum Welcome offers information, advice and practical support to asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrants living in Oxfordshire.

It help adults, young people and families to feel safe, respected and understood as members of our diverse community.

The charity based in east Oxford has a welcome centre where asylum seekers and refugees can find someone to talk to and find information about its services.

The Welcome Centre is open from 9.30am-4pm from Monday-Friday.

The Welcome Team of volunteers also answers the phone during the week, many of whom have lived experience of the asylum process.

For more information visit asylum-welcome.org.

Other great causes in our communities

OTHER charities from our region are in the running for a slice of funding include:

• Wiltshire Air Ambulance which relies on donations to keep saving lives. Visit wiltshireairambulance.co.uk.
• Swindon Women’s Aid supports victims of domestic abuse. Its 24-hour helpline is answered by a trained advisor. See swadomesticabuse.org.
• Malvern Special Families enables children and young people with disabilities to access safe, engaging, and fun social opportunities. For more visit malvernspecialfamilies.org.uk.
• Stroud Beresford Group runs a women’s refuge and provides a range of accommodation and support services for women and children. For more visit stroudwomensrefuge.org.
• South Bucks RDA – South Buckinghamshire Riding for the Disabled Association – gives the disabled an opportunity to ride. Visit southbucksrda.org.
• The Royal Berks Charity is the working name of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Charity. For more visit royalberkscharity.co.uk.