Charities have been given a welcome boost this Christmas after benefitting from grants handed out by their regional newspapers.

A number of organisations were awarded donations by the Gannett Foundation, which are made on behalf of publishers Newsquest Media Group.

This included Herts Mind Network, which provides mental health services across Hertfordshire. It received £4,950 to help fund their invaluable work in the region.

It put forward its application based on the desire to create and equip a purpose-built workshop for a weekly woodwork group for adults experiencing mental ill health.

This was one of 68 projects chosen by the trustees who narrowed down the list of applications to those which they thought would “deliver the most worthwhile practical benefits to communities served by Newsquest’s local news brands”.

Simon Westrop, chairman of the trustees, said they were pleased to be able to give to “some exciting projects making people’s lives better in all sorts of ways”.

He added: “If your application did not succeed this time, please don’t be discouraged, but look at the applications that have won grants and think how you can come up with even better ideas next year.”

The Gannett Foundation has provided charitable causes across the country with more than £3 million over the past ten years, with almost £300,000 handed out as part of this year’s annual round of donations.