We’re delighted to present a wheelchair sports club in Ebbw Vale with a £1,000 boost.

Ebbw Vale Wheelchair Sports Club is planning to buy a new specialist chair after bagging the windfall through our Building Futures campaign, which will deliver more than £1m to good causes this year.

Lyn Turner, of the club, said: “We’re delighted to receive this generous funding from Persimmon Homes. We’re a fully inclusive disability sports club which uses the wheelchair to level the playing field for all. This allows families and friends to play team sports with their disabled family member or friends. We are in desperate need of sports wheelchairs. The entry level for these is £1,250 so this money puts us well on our way to buying a new wheelchair for our members to use.”

Building Futures aims to support community groups working with under-18s across three categories – education & arts, health and sport. A total of 128 grants of £1,000 have already been awarded across our 32 regional businesses to improve local facilities and the delivery of vital community projects.

Three initiatives will go on to win £100,000 each through a national online public vote. The winners will be named at a gala dinner for finalists in November. In each sector – education & arts, health and sport – as well as the £100,000 first prize, there will be a £50,000 second prize and a £20,000 third prize, while a further 87 shortlisted projects will each receive £5,000.

Victoria Williams, sales director at Persimmon Homes East Wales, said: “We’re delighted to support Ebbw Vale Wheelchair Sports Club with this funding. Sport is a fantastic way for people to get together and stay active. COVID has hit sports clubs hard so we’re pleased to be able to help.”

Work has started on a £29m project to build 277 houses on the former Ebbw Vale Comprehensive School and College site.