FOUR organisations from across Bromsgrove have been handed a slice of £5.1 million funding.

Community projects in the West Midlands were given the early Christmas present as part of the National Lottery’s Big Lottery Fund, with four in Bromsgrove receiving a combined £39,820.

One of the groups, Dodford Children’s Holiday Farm, received £10,000.

Manager Kelly Broadfield said: “We are over the moon to have been granted £10,000.

“This money has enabled us to finally install a new water treatment plant at the farm which was long overdue.

“We had to raise the same amount of money again to complete the project and it isn't the most popular of topics!

“The new system will ensure we can keep offering holidays and day trips to needy children for many years to come. It will also enable us to keep improving and expanding the service we offer.

“We are now able to welcome children from all sorts of backgrounds who would benefit from a taste of the countryside so we encourage anyone who works with young children to have a look at our website.”

Artrix Arts Centre has been awarded £9,820 for the Hyped Youth Mental Health Project.

Director of Artrix, Hannah Phillips, said: "This is excellent news.

“This Big Lottery award will enable us to run an arts festival for local children following workshops in schools, increasing accessibility to the arts centre for young performers whilst exploring some very important issues.

“This will really make a difference to the arts work we are doing around issues of mental health with young people and children both in schools and at the venue."

Bromsgrove and Redditch Network (BARN) has been given £10,000 for its ‘Get Involved!’ project, which encourages volunteering to increase skills.

Gary Roskell, chief executive of BARN, said: ‘Get Involved!’ is a year-long project to help people to get more involved in their local charities, green spaces, neighbourhoods – whatever is important to them – across Bromsgrove and Redditch.

“It will bring people together, support them to volunteer, and help everyone realise the benefits to themselves as well as those they volunteer for.

“Volunteering can help people gain new skills, meet new people, and it's been proved to have a positive impact on mental and physical health.

“This grant will allow us to reach out more, and is a great opportunity for us to try and get people that have never considered getting involved in local causes a bit of support.

“We can't wait to get started.”

Rea Valley District Scout Council has also been awarded £10,000 for its Rea Away camp for scouts aged six-18, which will subsidise camping trips and specialist accommodation for those with additional physical needs.