AYRSHIRE charities and not-for-profit organisations are being offered the chacne to win up to £5,000 thanks to a business in the county.

GSK have now announced that applications are open for their Irvine site's community awards.

The annual awards offer three local charities or not-for-profit organisations, dedicated to supporting the health and wellbeing of the Ayrshire community, the opportunity to win between £2,000 and £5,000.

This will be the 11th annual awards, with the company donating a total of £100,000 to Ayrshire causes over the past decade.

Previous winners have included Aoife’s Sensory Bus, the Ayrshire Hospice and Ayrshire Cancer Support.

The latter received £5,000 from GSK last year, and have told of just how much these vital funds helped the charity.

Susan Morris, Stakeholder Engagement Leader at Ayrshire Cancer Support, said: “Ayrshire Cancer Support were delighted to be awarded ‘Gold’ in the GSK Community Awards in 2022.

"The £5,000 that we were awarded has allowed us to deliver approximately 150 therapeutic support sessions to people affected by cancer living in Ayrshire.

"As well as the financial reward, the whole Community Awards experience was a positive one.

"Being invited along to a celebration of the fund recipients was very welcome and reflects the commitment and involvement of GSK staff in the selection and award process.”

GSK's Irvine site director, Zen Cai, said that the company are delighted to be able to assist in making such a difference in the local community.

They said: “I’m pleased to invite applications for our annual Community Awards, where we’ll recognise the fundamental work Ayrshire charities and organisations do for the health and wellbeing of our local community and the difference they make to people’s lives.”

Donations are awarded based on applicants’ planned use of the funding, the number of people benefiting from the applicants’ work and the impact a donation would have on the beneficiaries of winning organisations.

Entrants should contact Site Engagement Lead, Sharon Baillie, at sharon.e.baillie@gsk.com for an application form.

Applications close on the August 31, 2023 and winners will be recognised at an awards ceremony.