TWO worthy Cumbrian charities have won a share of our cash giveaway to help them carry out their vital work.

Our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation, gave charities across our regions the chance to take a share in a £16k giveaway.

After asking our readers to nominate their most deserving charity, we can now reveal two Cumbrian charities, Cumbria Cerebral Palsy and Cumbria Deaf Association, have been selected to be featured in this year’s grants scheme.

Cumbria Cerebral Palsy is to receive £669.60 and Cumbria Deaf Association will receive £651.98.

Cumbria Cerebral Palsy is dedicated to improving the lives of Cumbrian adults and children with Cerebral Palsy and associated disabilities.

Their family support workers travel around the county, meeting clients and their families and offering practical help and emotional support. The charity's resource centre at Lister House in Carlisle also provides day services for adults with disabilities.

General manager Danielle Seidl said that the funds will go towards helping to market the charity.

"The more people that know about us, the better for them really," she said. "The more people that we can get leaflets out to or any form of advertising material, it just helps to let them know that we are here for them.

"It's a major contribution to help us raise that awareness. We are very appreciative."

The money will also go towards a piece of specialist equipment that will allow their service users at their day centre to communicate through the means of looking at a piece of technology.

"It's a very advanced piece of technology, which is very expensive, but every contribution helps," said Ms Seidl.

Cumbria Deaf Association helps deaf people and their families living in Cumbria to achieve educational, physical, social and spiritual well-being.

The charity has been supporting deaf people since 1894 and provides a wide range of specialist services.

Chief executive officer, Caroline Howsley, said: "The funding will enable us to deliver two workshop days with Cumbrian schools, which is fantastic.

"We are working to deliver an initial one-year programme of activities in schools to support classmates in learning British Sign Language (BSL) to interact with d/Deaf classmates, and expand support to d/Deaf child's parents and siblings.

"The family and friends of a d/Deaf child are not funded through health or social care nor education to learn or be supported to learn BSL, they have to fund themselves. 

"Our project working with schools and families helps create understanding, reduce anxiety and improves the ability to better build relationships, which are all necessary to excel in education and socially."

She added: "We have a mission to enable Cumbria to become the most deaf aware county in England, and this includes young people who are the future decision-makers, employers, colleagues, teachers etc.

"If young people have a greater awareness of the complexity of deafness and hearing loss they have that instilled in them for life, helping to inform all they do."