M&S Bridgend Outlet

We are a long-established Charity that has been active in Port Talbot since 1898. We are placed in an area that has suffered a lot of economic hardship and have a couple of the most disadvantaged areas of Wales on our doorstep. We have several arms to our Charity which are a homeless hostel for young men aged 16-35, community facilities for sports and education groups and an adventure club for local young children to partake in sporting activities. Our community rooms are used for Job search and CV skills by the long term unemployed and we also provide free space weekly for NA and AA. Mediation also has a base in our building. We keep the costs of our adventure club to a minimum so everyone can take part in sports such as climbing and canoeing. We have found that these sports help children with personal development and confidence and give some young people an opportunity to partake in sport who do not like the more traditional team sports. Every week over 700 different people come through our doors to use the variety of resources on offer. Our overall aim is try and improve the lives of our users even if only by a little. If we are fortunate enough to get this prize money, we intend to use it to develop our new project called Open New Minds which will be aimed at our hostel residents. We house young men aged 16 to 35 who have come to us from a variety of backgrounds and causes but our aim is to positively move them back into society so that they can hopefully enjoy the type of life we all take for granted. We have identified several areas that they normally need help on and we started this with our successful garden project this year in which we taught some of them how to grow vegetables and the benefit this will have on them financially and health wise in the future. We want to work with them now on teaching them how to cook and controlling their budgets and managing their money. We do not get funding for this but we want to be able to give these individuals a chance of success in their futures. We see the legacy aspect of this project as giving the user new skills and developing their self-confidence. They will have a sense of achievement by what they have achieved. Overall this will leave a long lasting and positive benefit not only to the individual but also the community.

We support children with life-limiting illnesses. We're fundraising to achieve £4 million to operate our services. Tŷ Hafan offers care to children and support for their families, throughout Wales. We bring comfort, care and support to life-limited children, young people and their families in the hospice, in the community and in their home so they can make the most of the time they have left together. We allow parents and carers to relax and recharge their batteries - and of course we make sure the needs of brothers and sisters are never forgotten.

Wales Air Ambulance delivers advanced lifesaving medical care to people across Wales 24/7. We are the only air ambulance charity, based in, and dedicated to, the people of Wales and rely entirely on charitable donations to raise £11.2 million every year to keep the helicopters in the air and fleet of rapid response vehicles on the road.  The Charity was formed on St. David’s Day, 1 March 2001 and operates from bases across Wales. Since its interception, the Charity has completed over 49,500 missions and is on standby to attend those suffering a life or limb-threatening injury or illness. Our Charity is delivered via a unique Third Sector and Public Sector partnership. The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners, who work on board the Charity’s vehicles. With bases across Wales, the highly skilled crew on board can carry out medical procedures which would usually only be available within a hospital setting. They can deliver blood transfusions, administer anaesthesia and undertake emergency operations at the scene of an incident, before taking the patient directly to specialist care. For the patient, this can mean hours saved in receiving the appropriate treatment when compared to standard care. As a pan-Wales service, the dedicated crews will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency lifesaving care. We are there for the people of Wales, whenever and wherever, they need us.