People power will determine how a fantastic £16,000 cash pot is spent in Glasgow.

The Glasgow Times is giving local charities the chance to share in the money and it is down to our readers to decide.

Assistant editor Stacey Mullen explained: “Our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation, is providing £128k in cash to support good causes across the country and we are delighted to have a £16k share to give away. 

“We asked you to decide where this money should be spent. You nominated in your thousands and our editorial team chose a shortlist of ten charities who are all guaranteed a share of the £16k.”

She added: “Now we are putting the power to allocate the cash back into the hands of our readers.”

The Glasgow charity in the running is Action on Asbestos, which has been providing free practical and emotional support to those affected by mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos and work-related diseases and injuries for more than 35 years.

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Director and senior welfare rights officer Phyllis Craig said: “Many people think asbestos-related conditions are a thing of the past, or just something to do with men working in the shipyards, but that is far from the case.

“We see around 750 new cases every year, and increasingly, younger women, who have worked in factories, hospitals and schools, are affected.”

 

She added: “We feel very privileged to be chosen for the Glasgow Times Cash for Charity campaign, and the money will be a huge boost for us.

“Research has shown that singing can help people with respiratory conditions, so we intend to spend the money we receive on hiring a professional singing coach to help our members and to form a choir with our members and NHS professionals. It’s really exciting.”

The other Scottish charities in the running are Galashiels Foodbank, East Lothian Roots and Fruits, Greenock Medical Aid Society, Fermanagh Brightstarz, Fairway Fife, RSABI, Cancer Support Scotland, Sense Scotland Touchbase Ayrshire and Finding Your Feet.

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To determine how the £16,000 is allocated, readers are invited to collect tokens which will appear in our newspapers every day during November until the closing date.

You can then post your tokens to Glasgow Times Readers’ Choice Cash for Charity Nominations, 125 Fullarton Drive, Glasgow G32 8FG. You can also hand them in at the Action on Asbestos head office at 245 High Street, Glasgow, G4 0QR.

Tokens must arrive by the closing date of Sunday, November 20.

Each token collected will then be used to allocate cash to the nominated charity – so if your favourite good cause collects 50% of all tokens collected, it will receive £8000.

Newsquest terms and conditions apply where relevant to the grants process. All 10 charities are guaranteed a share of the cash pot.

The first lot of tokens will be included in the Glasgow Times on November 1 - so get collecting and support your favourite charity.