East Midlands: Charity wants your votes to help win £5,000 of funding

Nationwide allows members and the public to vote online for the charities they would like to receive £5,000 of funding, as part of The Big Local initiative .

Each month, Nationwide selects three charities nominated by its members from a different UK region.

The three chosen charities will each be awarded £200 and members will then be able to visit the new Big Local website and vote for which of the three they would most like to receive an additional £5,000 of funding.

The Big Local also features on Nationwide’s Facebook page, allowing people to not only vote for their preferred charity but also share their choice with their friends and family, potentially generating even more votes.

The scheme is supporting charities in the East Midlands and NORSACA is one of the three charities short-listed.

NORSACA is the largest specialist autism charity in the East Midlands, helping hundreds of families affected by autism every year.

NORSACA was founded by a group of parents who had been told their children could not be educated.

This group of ordinary mums and dads went on to achieve the extraordinary, setting up a specialist school in 1970 which is still going strong.

The charity also provides play and leisure services for over 600 families; adult day and residential services and outreach and specialist training.

The charity is looking to receive as many votes as possible through The Big Local during August to secure the £5,000 worth of funding.

Melanie Howard, fund generation manager at NORSACA said: “We are thrilled that NORSACA has been nominated to benefit from the Nationwide’s The Big Local giving scheme and we urge all our supporters and anyone with an interest in autism to cast their vote for NORSACA.”

Chloe Keen, senior citizenship manager at Nationwide, said: “This is a fantastic way for our members to get involved and tell us exactly where our funding, volunteering and fund-raising efforts should be focused – after all, our members know their communities better than anyone else.”

To find out more about the Big Local and to cast your vote, please visit www.your.nationwide.co.uk/thebiglocal or Nationwide’s Facebook page.

To nominate a charity that you think should be supported through the Big Local and to find out more about Nationwide’s Living on your Side initiative, visit www.your.nationwide.co.uk/livingonyourside or visit your local branch.