THREE good causes in Swindon have each received £1,000 in grants from Persimmon Homes Wessex.

The Great Western Hospital Foundation Trust's Brighter Futures charity, Swindon 105.5 FM community radio and the Swindon and District Branch of Parkinson’s UK have all received the funds after the developer launched its Community Champions scheme in March, which sees a pot of £24,000 handed out to local community groups, clubs and charities.

Brighter Futures will use it's grant to supplement its ongoing radiotherapy appeal to bring a dedicated unit to the town and will provide two Linear Accelerators required to deliver the life-saving equipment.

Jennifer Green, head of fundraising for Brighter Futures, said.: “We are so pleased that Persimmon Homes has chosen to support us. The funds will help us provide the best possible cancer care to patients living in Wiltshire.”

Meanwhile, Swindon 105.5 FM will put the funds towards the running costs of the station, which welcomes volunteers and trainees with a wide range of disabilities including visual impairment, learning difficulties and victims of physical abuse.

Shirley Ludford, station manager for Swindon 105.5 said: “This is an extremely generous gesture by Persimmon Homes and one that will continue to help us promote all aspects of our community.”

The funding received by the Swindon and District Branch of Parkinson’s UK will be spent on specialist balance and exercise classes which help sufferers to maintain their independence and restore physical and emotional wellbeing.

Suzannah Pegler, a volunteer fundraiser from Parkinson’s UK, said: “The Swindon & District Branch are very grateful for the support given by Persimmon Homes. There are many people who suffer from this condition and this funding will help support further research to identify causes and to assist treatment.”

Pauline Fletcher, sales and marketing director for Persimmon Homes Wessex said the community initiative was an excellent way of supporting people across every city, town and village where the company works.

“We are confident this funding will make a huge difference to these groups," she said. "The quality of the submissions we received were very high, so choosing the good causes to support was much harder than we expected.

“We now want to hear from more clubs, groups and good causes as we look to allocate more funding over the next month. All we ask is that the group or charity has already worked hard to raise money themselves, and we will then match this effort with funding of up to £1,000.”

To apply for funding, visit www.persimmonhomes.com/charity.