PARAMEDICS in Bude and Holsworthy and historians in St Breward have benefitted from grant money distributed in the last eight months from Cornwall Council’s ‘Community Chest’.

Each of the 123 Cornwall councillors has been allocated £2,000 to put towards support for local projects run by not-for-profit groups.

So far 368 grants have been distributed. Some of the groups that have received Community Chest grants this year include Bude and Holsworthy Paramedics — £1,000 for a resuscitation simulator project; St Breward History Group — £500 for publication of a memories book; St Mellion Village Tenants’ and Residents’ Association — £500 for a street party, and Westcountry Rivers Trust — £250 for a River Ottery conservation volunteers’ project.

Jeremy Rowe, Cornwall Council localism portfolio holder, said: “These small grants can make such a big difference.

“They are spread across a wide range of community groups and support so many diverse projects that they touch the lives of a huge number of local people.”

Some of the groups have been able to get their grants match funded, leading to almost £670,000 more going into local projects and organisations.

Mr Rowe continued: “By using the Community Chest grants to secure match funding from other grant providers, some groups have been able to multiply their value many times over, benefiting their communities even more.

There is still an opportunity for groups to apply for a Community Chest grant of between £100 and £1,000.

Speak to a Cornwall councillor to see if they can support an application or visit www.cornwall.gov.uk/communitychest for more details. The closing date for applications is February 12.