A Woodland charity creating a garden for people recovering from mental ill-health, dance weekends for blind children in Dunoon, and play equipment for a Bridgeton health and poverty relief charity were among those to get a boost last year from the charitable wing of the Herald and Evening Times's parent company.

Now charities from across Scotland are being invited to apply to share in this year's bonanza.

Over the last decade, the Gannett Foundation, has given away more than £3m in grants to charities in areas covered by the company's newspapers.

In 2015-6 those taking advantage of the fund included New Caledonian Woodlands, a project in Edinburgh whose sun trap garden near the Royal Botanic Gardens received £1600.

The charity teaches people who have suffered significant mental health problems a rang of skills from jam-making to forest management. Those taking part learn to tend a small orchard and also sell firewood, timber and kitchen produce to shops and markets.

The charity For All Bridgeton (FAB) received £3302 to help fund new play equipment, while £2500 allowed the Glasgow Play Resource Association to install a second hand paper and cardboard compressor.

Glasgow based Confi-Dance used its £1000 to run a dance weekend for blind and visually impaired people in Dunoon. The Saturday Cafe in Glasgow received the £5780 it needed to help resurface an outdoor playground at a community centre while would-be gardeners in Provanmill got to expand their horticultural project.

The £3680 received by the St Paul's Youth Forum went towards a polytunnel, fruit trees and gardening too, as part of a scheme designed to build self-sufficiency in an area where many families rely on foodbanks by allowing them to grow some of their own food.

Last year a total of £250,000 was distributed to organisations in communities served by the company's 165 local news brands. This year Trustees will sift through hundreds of applications to select the best.

To qualify, registered charities must be providing practical or creative projects which bring lasting benefits to local neighbourhoods or communities.

Examples include youth development work, care of the elderly or infirm, educational and cultural enrichment, help for the disadvantaged or disabled, environmental conservation or other local problem solving.

Grants cannot be used to fund day to day running costs, professional fees or fund salaries. The Foundation does not fund state or privately run schools, or hospitals (other than hospices) or projects serving primarily political or religious objectives.

The theme for the fund this year is rural communities,but equal consideration will be given to all applications as long as they meet the general criteria.

Applicants must be registered charities and cannot have received a grant from the foundation within the last two year and applications need to be submitted no later than 5pm on October 14th.

Applications should be sent to Elaine Young: elaine.young@heraldandtimes.co.uk

To download an application form in Microsoft Word format, please download from here: http://tinyurl.com/jcqtl3t or [CLICK HERE]