TWO Bradford charities have received an early Christmas present from the Telegraph & Argus - nearly £6,000 in total from our charity cash giveaway.

Our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation, is providing £125,000 to support local charities across the country and we asked T&A readers to decide where our £25,000 share should be spent. Thousands of you nominated local charities and a shortlist of eight charities across the region was chosen. The charities chosen from our district were Bradford Cinderella Club and Jacqui’s Million.

Throughout November, readers collected tokens from our newspapers and sent them to collection points across the district. Each token collected was used to allocate the cash.

Bradford Cinderella Club - which helps children in poverty by funding things such as school trips, school uniforms, laptops and other equipment, and runs a property where young people can stay overnight - has received £3,842.62. With 502 votes from tokens, the charity pulled in the second highest number of votes, with 15.37per cent of the regional total.

Spokesman Mike Conway said: “We are absolutely delighted to hear we have been successful to the tune of nearly £4,000 in the T&A charity vote. Our thanks go to the Garnett Foundation and the T&A but also to the hundreds of supporters and friends of the Cinderella Club who voted for us.

“Our charity is currently in the middle of delivering 1,000 shoe boxes filled with Christmas gifts and toys to Bradford children and teenagers, and organisations including the Salvation Army, Bradford Social Services, BEAP and St Luke’s Hospital.

“Many, many thanks to T&A readers who took the time and trouble to vote for us. They can be assured that every penny will go to help the poorest children in Bradford.”

Jacqui’s Million, set up by a terminally ill cancer patient from Bradford, has received £2,112.68. The charity got 276 votes from tokens, with 8.45per cent of the regional vote. The appeal, to raise £1 million to fund equipment and home comforts at Leeds Cancer Centre, founded by Jacqui Drake, who has stage 4 skin cancer.

Jacqui said: “This is such wonderful news. I am delighted and feel very humble. A huge thank you to all the people who bought the T&A, completed the slip and voted for Jacqui’s Million. It truly means so much to me, the hospital and all the cancer patients it helps. The funds will benefit so many on their cancer journey at Leeds Cancer Centre.

It will bring the appeal total up to £286,244 which means even more in these difficult times. Future donations will go to fund a bereavement nurse for the centre, this role is so important for patients and their families.”