A dedicated group which provides vital speech and communication therapy sessions for Down's Syndrome children in Bedfordshire has carried off the top prize in the 2007 Griffin Awards.

The awards, now in their eighth year, are funded by car giant General Motors to support and recognise community project across the county.

And judges decided that the largest grant to be awarded, £10,000, would go to the Bedfordshire Down's Syndrome Support Group to help fund an expansion of their programme of Saturday sessions to improve youngsters aged up to 11 improve their speech and learn how to sign so that they can communicate more effectively.

The other plum award, the use of a Vauxhall vehicle for 11 months, was claimed by the long-running Luton Community Arts Trust SNAP project, which needs wheels to help it expand its work with Luton's teenagers beyond its town centre base at the Hat Factory arts centre and into neighbourhoods.

Also delighted by their success at the awards evening were the team at Bedford's Renaissance Café, which helps people with mental health issues build their skills and confidence in the heat of a community kitchen which provides healthy lunches and buffets for a wide range of clients.

The project is planning a move from its current home in the Bedford Health Village to a town centre base so that it can expand, and desperately needs a commercial grade cooker – something that their £3,000 award will help to fund.

And also receiving cash on the night was the Friends Of The Child Bereavement Service- Bedfordshire, which received £1,000 to help fund a workbook project.

Bedfordshire Down's Syndrome Support Group


Streetwize Kids Project

Luton Community Arts Trust SNAP Project

Bedford Renaissance Cafe

Friends Of The Child Bereavement Service - Bedfordshire

The awards were presented by Vauxhall managing director Bill Parfitt, who paid tribute to the important and worthwhile work being doing by so many in the county community.

The Griffin Awards have provided more than £200,000 in grants in both Bedfordshire and Cheshire, where Vauxhall parent company General Motors also has a production plant, since their inception.

And because of the continuing success of the awards, two new categories were introduced this year.

One was for the Bedfordshire Young Volunteer Of The Year, a title claimed by Bedford teenager Chantelle Darby for her Streetwise Kidz Project work with young people.

And also recognised on the night was the General Motors Community Volunteer Of The Year, to salute the work done by many of the firm's staff supporting a wide range of good causes.