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Cast Your Votes! Residents in Your Area To Decide Which Three Local Projects Will be Awarded £6,000

The importance of community to people in Britain has increased following the recession, fuelled by a growing sense of local pride, according to a study of nearly 5,000 adults.
Finance, Leisure - 29 September 2011   Download IconContent available for download:  
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The importance of community to people in Britain has increased following the recession, fuelled by a growing sense of local pride, according to a study of nearly 5,000 adults. Eighty-one percent of Brits agree that the recession has made supporting the local community more important and just under three quarters said they felt they were a part of their community – a rise of eleven per cent on 2008.

People are also more optimistic about issues at a local level with seventy percent believing their local area is improving compared to a third who believe the country is improving. Moreover, locals are keen to support their community financially with over three quarters of people spending at least half their time and money within five miles of their home.

This week, RBS / NatWest has opened the second phase of its CommunityForce programme and is asking local residents to decide how £18,000 will be shared by three local good causes. A local public vote will decide which of the organisations who have applied will receive the three £6,000 awards in each of the 158 individual CommunityForce areas in the UK.

. Introduction:

The importance of community to people in Britain has increased following the recession, fuelled by a growing sense of local pride, according to a study of nearly 5,000 adults. Eighty-one per cent of people agreed that the recession has made supporting the local community more important and just under three quarters said they felt they were a part of their community. This week, voting opens in our area for local residents to decide which three local community projects will be awarded £6,000 as part of the RBS / NatWest CommunityForce programme. The fund aims to give local good causes a helping hand, and the bank is asking for your help in making a decision on this.

So how many projects are in the running in our area?

Joining us to discuss this further is Maxine Norris, community fund manager from RBS.

. Suggested Questions:

Can you tell us how many projects have applied in our area?

Why has RBS NatWest released this fund?

How will the organisations be selected and how much will each be awarded if they win?

How can local people vote?

When will the winner be announced?

Where can we find out more information?