Kentish Express Ashford & District
Two thousand very good reasons to get involved…
Good causes in Ashford applying to be the 2017 KE Charity of the Year now also have a chance to receive a cheque for £2,000.
Specsavers branches across the county have decided to support the application process by picking their own cause to champion from those applying to the KM, and awarding their choice the big cheque.
Last year 183 charities and good causes applied to be one of the 10 editors’ charities of the year with the chosen causes championed in their corner of the county for 12 months.
The involvement of Specsavers has been welcomed by Simon Dolby of the KM Charity Team who administers the KM Charity of the Year selection process for editors.
Mr Dolby said: “Having the editor acting as your champion for 12 months with regular press stories appearing in the local KM paper is a fantastic boost to any cause, whether great or small, but now with a £2,000 cheque also available we expect this to spark even more interest.”
Matt Trusty, chairman of Spescavers Kent, said: “I have watched and admired how the KM Charity of the Year process works and am delighted to be able to add our backing to this.”
A panel of Specsavers directors will meet the week after KM edi- tors have announced the causes they will champion in 2017. Mr Dolby will brief the directors on the editors’ selections and if the Specsavers panel do not pick one of the KM causes to receive the cheque then all those that applied will be in the running to be picked as the Specsavers cause of the year.
Applying to be KE Charity of the Year is easy. Visit www. kmcharityteam.co.uk and complete the application form. The deadline to apply is October 21.
A briefing to help causes finetune their application will be held at the annual KM Charity Team Forum at the Mercure Great Danes Hotel, Maidstone, on Monday, October 3. Tickets to the KM Charity Team Forum are free but must be booked in advance at the same website.