A PAIR of grants worth more than £17,600 have given a “massive lift” to two charities thanks to News Shopper.

CASPA, which stands for Children on the Autism Spectrum Parents Association, has been awarded a Gannett Foundation grant of £9,055.

The funds are given out once a year by News Shopper’s parent company Gannett.

CASPA is planning to buy a new trampoline for the 150 young people aged one to 25 from Bromley, Bexley and Lewisham who flock to the charity’s base at The Link Youth Centre in Midfield Way, Orpington, every week.

After receiving the cheque director Helen Dyer told News Shopper: “For a small charity like CASPA, working with such a significant number of young people in the borough with special needs, this just gives us a massive lift at a time when funding is hard to come by.

“The benefits to our children of being able to do something like trampolining are immeasurable.”

Widehorizons has accepted £8,554 which will be used to build a new Adventure Play Area at its Environment Centre in Bexley Road, Eltham.

The charity, which also has a centre in Horton Kirby near Dartford, helps schoolchildren aged two to 11 from largely urban areas learn the value of playing and learning outside.

Events manager Neil Munro said: “We are over the moon.

“A lot of the children at schools that we work with don’t have much of a playground so these children spend most of their time inside or on concrete.

“The chance to go to the centre is an opportunity to have good fun and take the classroom outside.”

Click here for more information on applying for a Gannett Foundation grant or visit caspabromley.org.uk and widehorizons.org.uk for more on our chosen charities.