TOWN charities, community groups and voluntary groups have been awarded more than £33,000 in grants, thanks to Haslemere Challice Community Fund.

This year, the fund was able to help 12 organisations working within the local community involved with projects ranging from providing computers to Haslewey community centre to aid programmes for unemployed people and the elderly, to paying the salaries of youth workers at A Place to Be Youth Group.

Other organisations to benefit included Haslemere Fringe Festival, Skillway, Haslemere Festival, Waverley Hoppa Community Transport, Haslemere Educational Museum, Wey Hill In Bloom, Haslemere Hall, HomeStart Waverley, and the town branch of the Frontline Debt Advice charity.

The Challice Community Fund was formed when the existing Challice Trust was transferred to the Community Foundation for Surrey.

The Challice Trust was originally established in 1962 as a bequest to Haslemere in the will of Ruth Challice Bush.

Following its transfer, the fund has continued to grow and has benefited from additional donations and further legacies, resulting in a permanent source of funding for Haslemere. Since working with the Community Foundation for Surrey, the fund has awarded 88 grants totalling more than £177,000.

Challice Community Fund chairman Bryan Farley, said: “Thanks to Ruth Challice Bush’s legacy and generous donors from the local community, we have been able to continue providing Haslemere with funding where it is most needed.

“We have once again this year awarded grants to a wide range of inspiring community projects that have supported the community in Haslemere.”

Wendy Varcoe, executive director of the Community Foundation for Surrey added: “It is wonderful to see one of our most established area funds continue to assist such a diverse range of needs within the community.

“In working with the Challice Trust to form the Haslemere Challice Community Fund, we have been able to maximise the benefit of this legacy and provide for the people of the town.

“The fund works in partnership with the Community Foundation for Surrey, which assists projects that are at the forefront of tackling community needs. These inspiring projects are able to help the most vulnerable and isolated individuals in Surrey as well as local communities.”