Joy for The Junction as city causes bank £360k

BENEFIT: The cash will help charities working with youngsters affected by drink and drugs

The money has been donated as part of a 1.2 million payout from the Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, helping more than 75 charities across the country.

In the Capital, the fund is to pay 363,000 to ten charities, helping them provide services dealing with alcohol problems, special-needs children and disadvantaged people.

The biggest award locally has gone to The Junction, which has received 175,792 to help cover the running costs of the North Edinburgh Alcohol Initiative Collaboration. The Junction offers health-related services, education and support for young people aged 12-21.

The alcohol initiative provides vital information to youngsters about drink and the problems it can cause, working with schools and individuals to help reduce problems in the area.

The next biggest grant has gone to the Church of Scotland, to help it run the Sunflower garden project. This is a child-focused service working with children up to primary school age who are affected in any way by drug use.

Both these awards are among 850,000 from the foundation aimed at tackling drug and alcohol problems across Scotland.

Adam Ingram MSP, Minister for Children and Young People, said: "It is great to see the voluntary sector using funds to such great benefit of our young people. By helping them make positive choices, it can change their lives around.

"These latest awards are extremely timely as we know charities face challenging times ahead and are working extremely hard to make sure they are able to continue delivering their vital services."

Other awards in Edinburgh included a 7500 grant to the BIG project, which provides support for children and young people living in Broomhouse.

The Scotland Yard Adventure centre, which provides an outdoor adventure play facility in Edinburgh for disabled young people, received 6531.

In East Lothian, four groups shared awards of 86,926, with the biggest award going to the First Step Communities Project. The charity received 69,926 towards the salary and running costs for outreach support to help families affected by substance issues.

In West Lothian, two groups shared 70,722. The major award went to the Circle (Family Service Unit Scotland), which received 64,722 to contribute towards the salary and running costs of the Early Years Life Stages Initiative.

Mary Craig OBE, the foundation's chief executive, said: "All our awards are driven by the needs of Scotland's charities and we are always keen to support fragile, local groups that we know make such a difference to people's lives.

"Over 350,000 of these awards will be used by community-based charities, which rely on hundreds of volunteers to deliver work that helps improve lives for many thousands of people and families across the country.

"We are particularly pleased that some of these awards will be used to support these volunteers, who are often the hidden face of service delivery but without whom many charities could not continue to operate."

The Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland was set up in 1985 to support local community groups and is governed by a board of trustees who meet six times a year.