THE Ham&High was delighted to team up with Barclays Bank last week to distribute £5,500 of grants to charitable and voluntary organisations doing good work in the community. It may not seem like a lot of money but in these cash-strapped times, charities a

THE Ham&High was delighted to team up with Barclays Bank last week to distribute £5,500 of grants to charitable and voluntary organisations doing good work in the community. It may not seem like a lot of money but in these cash-strapped times, charities are really feeling the pinch and even the gift of a few hundred pounds through our Christmas Cheer project will make a significant difference to smaller organisations which have to raise money throughout the year and then count every single penny, just to keep going.

It isn't all about cash, of course. Many of these organisations would simply not be viable but for the selfless dedication of people who expect no remuneration for their efforts.

From all the nominations received for the Christmas Cheer handouts, it was appropriate that the recipients were chosen because the money will help them to progress or complete specific projects. These include erecting new commemorative gates at Gospel Oak School, planting a sensory garden for child cerebral palsy sufferers in Muswell Hill, and helping the Haringey Phoenix Club to increase awareness of the excellent work they do for blind and partially-sighted people in the borough.

We were also delighted this winter to again get behind the Hampstead Hospice Lights to Remember appeal. The Ham&High was proud to be involved from the outset of this excellent event, an annual reminder of the great work done by the hospice, and indeed by the hospice movement in London and across the country as a whole.

The Lights to Remember appeal is now in its fifth year and it continues to make a significant contribution to the hospice running costs, as well as raising awareness of the plight of the less fortunate in this, the traditional season of goodwill.

Christmas truly is a time for giving, mainly among family and friends. But we should not forget the work of charities and voluntary groups, especially as the credit crunch has left many of them struggling for survival.

The year ahead will be extremely tough for fundraisers everywhere and we should all do our best to help them while we can. The Ham&High will continue to highlight the vast array of charitable works engaged in, and supported by, our readers through our popular Your Cause pages in 2009, and we have no doubt that even in tough times, they will continue to receive the support they rightly deserve for their wonderful efforts.