A BRECON-based community group is calling on the public to help it win nearly £20,000 of National Lottery funding.

Brecon Active Inclusion Group, which works in the town and the surrounding area, is a client-led group composed of disadvantaged people and provides inclusive and accessible activities and learning opportunities.

The group’s Green Team project was due to be showcased on ITV Wales News on Wednesday, April 18 at 6pm as part of an annual contest where viewers are asked to decide the winners of the People’s Projects awards. It hopes to secure £19,821 by winning the public vote. Five groups across Wales are in the running for a share of up to £150,000 in funding.

Delyth Thomas, support worker for Pobl Care and Support which supports the inclusion project, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to raise awareness and support for our work and, with your help, to secure further much-needed funding. We urge local people to get behind us. If successful, our project, Green Team, will make a real difference to our community by improving local growing spaces and creating new environments for conservation”.

The group hopes to use the grant to develop their rural skills, ranging from hedge-laying to estate maintenance and countryside skills. They will also attend training in social enterprise to encourage the group to establish itself as a model for future income generation. As well as reducing social isolation, promoting physical and mental well-being, increasing motivation and self-reliance, they aim to develop a greater sense of inclusion and value to the rural communities in and around Brecon.

Voting in the competition opened on Monday, April 16 and closes at midday on Monday, April 30. People can vote once per region and will need an email address to vote or otherwise can vote by post. To support the Green Team and for terms and conditions visit www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk.

People without email addresses can vote by post by sending a postcard to ‘Freepost The People’s Projects’. To be counted, the following details must be written on the postcard: name, address, telephone number and the name of the project voted for. Send postal votes by last post Wednesday, April 25. Postal votes must be received by noon on Monday April 30.