Time Is Running Out For Peterborough Residents To Bid For £1,000 Award

Time is running out for community groups in Peterborough to bid for a cash windfall. Housing association Accent Nene (www.accentnene.org) will soon be ending its search for a community group or project that it feels could benefit from winning its Thelma Lewis award. Groups have until 24 October to apply for an award.

Each year Accent Nene donates an allocation of £1,000 to deserving projects and is looking to continue the good work of previous years awards. The money could be used to fund an existing project which benefits the community, to purchase equipment for a club or community group, or to provide start-up funding for a new venture.

To be in with a chance of winning the award, projects will need to demonstrate how they will be working positively in an area where Accent Nene has residents. The association owns homes in Peterborough and nearby towns and villages.

Last years Thelma Lewis award was split between two deserving community groups The Huntingdonshire Society for the Blind (HSB) and the Fulbourn and Teversham Royal British Legion Youth Brass Band in Cambridge who each received £500 to put towards individual projects.

The annual award was set up in the memory of resident Thelma Lewis who played a very active role in the Best Value Link group (BVL) the residents group responsible for selecting the award winners.

Ruth Mingay, assistant resident involvement officer at Accent Nene, said: At Accent Nene we are proud to have set up the Thelma Lewis award.

Thelmas energy and work with the community has been kept alive through the award, which we feel sure she would have been proud to put her name to.

The quality of entries we received last year was so high we simply couldnt choose one overall winner. By splitting the prize between two groups we were able to provide much needed funding for two equally deserving groups.

Helen Bosworth of 2008 award winners HSB said: The funding from Accent Nene helped us to transport members to and from events. Transportation is a major part of the work we do, without it many of our members simply wouldnt get out. The transport we provide is vital to our members and with the rising costs of petrol the additional funding was very helpful.

The prize money also enabled The Fulbourn and Teversham Royal British Legion Youth Brass Band to purchase new sheet music and put some of the money towards a much needed instrument. Spokesman for the band Peter Mackley said: Winning the award was great and having the extra money was really helpful.

Accent Nene residents in Peterborough have until Friday 24 October 2008 to get their entries in. To apply, contact Ruth Mingay at Accent Nene on 01733 295478 and she will send out a simple application form to complete along with further details of the award scheme. Residents are also invited to nominate groups they believe are worthy of receiving the award.