Six charities want your vote as they make KCOM community shortlist

A charity that buys cots for babies, a school book programme and an East Riding foodbank are all in the running to be awarded a KCOM community grant.

The IT and broadband provider relaunched its community grants scheme this month and has picked a shortlist of six good causes that will now face a public vote to claim one of three awards of up to £1,000.

More than 40 groups applied for the new grants, that have been doubled in value, and are awarded every three months to help improve the quality of life of people living in Hull and East Yorkshire.

Sean Royce, KCOM’s managing director, said: “We are delighted that our new community grants scheme has got off to such a flying start and so many groups have taken the time to apply. We received with so many great entries that it was a really tough task to whittle it down to a shortlist of six deserving causes.

“As a company that’s been at the heart of the Hull and East Yorkshire community since 1904 we’ve always been committed to making the region a better place to live and work - and we hope our new grants scheme will help make a real difference to people living here.

“I’d now urge everyone to vote for their favourite good cause to give them a greater chance of winning a grant.”

The six groups chosen to face the public vote include the Friends of Westcott Primary School, which aims to buy new reading books for its reception, year 1 and year 2 classes; Bundles of Joy which is seeking funding for essential equipment for babies’ health and wellbeing and East Yorkshire Foodbank which hopes to purchase 150 crates to safely store food needed by struggling families in East Yorkshire.

The other three to make the shortlist are Connected Humber CIC, which plans to buy air pollution monitoring equipment to improve air quality around local schools; the Special Stars Foundation which aims to buy art materials for craft sessions for people with disabilities and Elstronwick Playing Field which is seeking funding to purchase a defibrillator for the village.

Each of the shortlisted short-listed group’s supporters are now being urged to vote for their chosen charity to give them a chance of claiming the cash.

Voting for the scheme is open now (May 13) and will run until 5pm, on Monday, 27 May. The three winners will be announced on Friday, 31 May.

To vote for one of the shortlisted groups people should visit www.kcomhome.com/communityvote/

The six shortlisted groups are:

Friends of Westcott

Westcott Primary School’s PTA is seeking funding to purchase new sets of Rigby Star guided reading books for its reception, year 1 and year 2 classes.

Connected Humber CIC

‘Smart city’ organisation Connected Humber has requested a grant to enable local young people to measure, monitor and improve air quality in their schools.

Bundles of Joy

Bundles of Joy helps to support disadvantaged families in need. It’s seeking funding for 18 new cot bundles of essential equipment for babies’ health and wellbeing.

Special Stars Foundation

Special Stars Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for people affected by disabilities. It’s seeking funding for a mobile art store and materials for craft sessions.

Elstronwick Playing field

The committee which looks after the Elstronwick playing field is seeking funding to purchase a defibrillator for the village as the nearest one is 2.5 miles away.

East Yorkshire Foodbank

The Beverley-based foodbank has requested a grant to purchase 150 crates to safely store extra food needed to meet the predicted rise in demand across East Yorkshire.