More than 130 charitable and voluntary groups in the area have benefitted from the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation’s community awards programme, funded by London Luton Airport Ltd.
Foundation chief executive Mark West said: “We always ask for feedback and from this we can tell that over 30,000 Luton residents have received a direct benefit – often those who are the most vulnerable in our society with real needs that the local community groups are best placed to address.
“The groups we have supported have given more than 130,000 hours of voluntary time to their projects – a figure we estimate is worth arund £1.5 million to the sector and that is over and above the £500,000 given to us by the Airport.
“What is also really important is that 88 per cent of those we have funded tell us that our money has helped the long term sustainability of their work.”
> If you would like help, fill in a form at www.blcf.org.uk/grants or call 01234 834930.