OREANDA-NEWS. A grants charity set up by Heathrow Airport has just awarded nearly GBP 170,000 to community projects for young people in the area.

The 13 schemes, supported by Heathrow Community Fund, range from a first aid training programme for young offenders, which will also seek to tackle the issues of violent crime, projects to support young people to gain first steps into work and a primary school garden allotment in which pupils will grow and sell vegetables from the school farm shop.

The money has been awarded in the second round of the charity's Communities for Youth programme which has donated a total of more than GBP 300,000 during 2013.

Heathrow Community Fund runs two further grant streams - Communities for Tomorrow for projects that help protect the environment or encourage sustainable development and eco-education and Communities Together, for a wider range of smaller community focussed projects. So far this year the total donated to local groups is more than GBP 500,000.

The charity's funds come from an annual donation from Heathrow Airport as well as fines imposed on aircraft that breach noise limits. It awards the youth grants in the boroughs of Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Slough and Spelthorne - and extends its environment and community programme to Richmond, Runnymede, South Bucks and Windsor and Maidenhead.

Said fund director Caroline Nicholls: “The aim of the fund is to help support and strengthen local communities close to the airport, whether it's helping young people to build skills and raise their aspirations, helping protect the environment or supporting a very wide range of smaller community projects - many of our Trustees are from the local communities and help us make sure that our grants go to the projects which will really make a difference to local life”