Bracknell

Three worthy Bracknell causes will be a step closer to realising their dreams, thanks to the Let's Do It community awards sponsored by the Bracknell News and Barclays Bank.

Earlier this year, we offered Bracknell charities and organisations the chance to bag some extra cash to help with a one-off community project.

The quality of entries was very high and representatives from Barclays deliberated for some time before coming to a decision.

A sensory garden for disabled people and a memorial garden for a Bracknell schoolboy who died of cancer were each awarded £1,000.

But the top award of £3,000 went to Beechcroft Court social committee, which wants to build a communal room in the garden for its elderly residents.

The committee's treasurer, Peggy Lawrence, said: "We've raised £1,500 since March, so that's not bad. This money will really help. It's wonderful."

The committee, which serves the residents of Beechcroft Court, Bracknell sheltered housing in Crowthorne Road, Wildridings, can now afford to buy the log cabin-style building and, with a further £5,000 donated by site owners by Hanover Housing Association Charitable Trust also announced this week, it will be able to buy furniture.

Barclays's area director Martin McDowell said: "They will get a lot of use out of it all year round.

"I'm really pleased we were able to help them out. The money has definitely gone to a good cause."

Residents of Ezra, a care home based at Ravenswood Village in Nine Mile Ride, Crowthorne, were given £1,000 towards building a garden to stimulate their senses.

Work has already started on the Ezra garden, but staff want to do more to give its seriously disabled residents a better quality of life.

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School in Gipsy Lane, Bracknell, has also received £1,000, to help fund a memorial garden for pupil Sean McAuley, eight, who died last December after a year-long battle with adrenal cancer.

Sean's parents Janet and Tony, along with their five-year-old daughter Hannah, opened the garden in July, so the money will be used for its upkeep.

ic Berkshire ~ Bracknell