OREANDA-NEWS. Local communities received more than £500,000 in grants from Heathrow Community Fund last year.

The past two years have seen the airport's grant-making charity donate more than £1 million to nine local boroughs.

The funds come from three sources - fines imposed on aircraft that breach noise limits, an annual donation from Heathrow and spare change from airport passengers.

The Waterman's Art Centre received £25,000 to help fund Urban Ambush, a four-week festival of creative programmes for young people from Ealing, Hounslow and Hillingdon during the summer of 2013. Hundreds of young people worked with professional artists to develop new projects, learn new skills and showcase their work.

Said Jan Lennox of Urban Ambush, “Last Summer nearly 200 young people aged between 8 and 18 participated in Urban Ambush, many from disadvantaged families. Urban Ambush is our new Summer arts programme that gives young people an opportunity to develop their creative and interpersonal skills. The grant of £25,000 from Heathrow Community Fund was central to providing the range of activities that made the project such a great success”

The Willow Tree Centre in Hillingdon received grants of £25,000 in both 2012 and 2013 to help build new volunteer and maintenance facilities. Volunteers, including staff from Heathrow, maintain 15 acres of woodland, reed beds and meadow with the centre providing outdoor activity facilities for children

Dawn Palmer, of Willow Tree Management said 'We are indebted to Heathrow Airport, its Community Fund and its employees for their support and belief in what we are doing for the 14,000 young people, of all abilities, who use our Centre every year. The grant is going to help maintain the centre's high standards by expanding various environmental works and contributing towards maintenance.'

Caroline Nicholls, Director of the Heathrow Community Fund said: “This has been a record year both in terms of the number of grants we've awarded and the level of funds we've been able to donate to so many excellent community projects. It's a privilege to be able to see at first hand the inspiring work done by dedicated local volunteers and community organisations. I'd like to thank our trustees and local panel members who review the applications and help ensure our grants go to the projects that will bring the biggest benefits to local people.”

Similar funds will be made available this year, and Heathrow is calling for more local charities to apply for grants. Heathrow Community Fund has three distinct grant streams: Communities for Youth, Communities for Tomorrow Communities Together scheme. Communities for Youth offers grants for local groups including charities, voluntary groups and schools delivering projects linked to education and economic regeneration. Communities for Tomorrow grants are focussed on projects that help project the environment or encourage sustainable development and are intended to benefit communities most closely affected by Heathrow's operations. The Communities Together scheme supports a wider range of smaller, community focussed projects.