THERE are a few days remaining to nominate charity Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods and put them in the running for a share of a £20,000 giveaway.

A competition being run by the Lancashire Telegraph’s charitable arm, the Gannet Foundation, has put up a total of £125,000 for charities across the country to benefit from.

The competition to vote for your local charity has been running throughout November with just a few more days to collect and submit vouchers.

Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods have said they would use the money to help refurbish the Ellis Gibson fish pond in the woods which they estimate to cost around £13,000.

Secretary of the group Mike Smith has a real passion for the Darwen woods and says that the money would be fantastic in helping increase footfall as it would create more of a family attraction.

He said: “It would just mean so much.

“The fish pond is completely overgrown and we need professional intervention to clear it out.

“For them to be able to go down to the fish pond and see those fish in there - it would draw people to the woods.”

The fishpond is currently completely overgrown, needs to be de-silted and the water needs to be drained and pumped back in to allow the introduction of fish.

It was last renovated by the group in 2008 thanks to the help of a number of companies and the council.

Eight charities are in the running in the North West and North Wales region.

As well as Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods, the Halliwell Befriending Service in Bolton; Bury Cancer Support Centre; The Joshua Tree in Cheshire; Warrington Wolves Charitable Foundation; The Hope Centre in St Helens; Autism Together, Wirral; and Dal dy dir, Ceri, Powys are all in the running for a share of the money.

You can vote for Friends of Sunnyhurst Woods by handing in the voucher below to one of the drop off points or by post (details on the voucher).

The drop off points can be found in local supermarkets, convenience stores and other locations across Blackburn and Darwen.

Collection points are located at:

Tesco customer service desk, Hill Street, Blackburn

Hoddlesden Deli and Village Store, Queen’s Square, Darwen

One Stop, Royal Retail Park, Infirmary Road, Blackburn

Asda, Grimshaw Street, Blackburn

Spar/Esso Garage, Haslingden Road, Blackburn

Co-op, 140/148 Blackburn Road

Lesleys, Market Hall, Stall N4/5 Blackburn

Sunnyhurst Stores, Hindle St, Darwen

Lockmill, Bolton Road, Blackburn

Sainsbury’s, Hardshaw Road, Darwen

Co-op, Livesey Bank Road, Blackburn

Sainsbury’s, Preston New Road, Blackburn

BP Garage, Whalley New Road, Blackburn

One Stop, Church Street, Darwen

Darwen Library reception, Knott Street, Darwen

Morrisons customer service desk, Railway Road, Blackburn

Nisa Local, Blackburn Road, Darwen

Newsquest terms and conditions will apply where relevant to the grants process; please visit http://www.newsquest.co.uk/prize-competition-rules. Personal data will be used by Newsquest and its agents solely for the administration of the grants process and will not be shared with any third party; our general privacy notice is at: http://www.newsquest.co.uk/privacy-policy. This campaign will be published in multiple Newsquest publications across this Newsquest region. The 8 charities chosen by the local editorial panel will be voted for by our readers. The value of the grant awarded to each of the 8 charities will be calculated pro rata according to their share of the vote. Only original voting coupons will be accepted, no photocopies. The cash grants will be sent by BACS transfer. Grants are conditional on completion of the relevant project and a successful nominee charity may be required to evidence its use of the grant. The top 8 charities selected for the vote will be contacted to provide additional information for entry into the readers’ vote; should this information not be provided within the timescale provided then the editorial panel will select an alternative charity. The charity must be registered with the Charities Commission and have not received a grant from the Gannett Foundation in the last two years.