Over the last couple of years more and more people have realised the need for safe, accessible wide open spaces. Somewhere to go to blow the cobwebs away, burn off some energy or just sit and relax in the fresh air.

Ford Park has been a godsend for many over the years and it’s fair to say that a lot of what’s been achieved at the park has been down to the support and dedication of the local community.

Ford Park has a dedicated team of wonderful volunteers who work very hard all year round to keep the park looking its best, but it relies on donations and financial support to help keep it as safe, accessible and attractive for the community to enjoy all year round.

They now have the chance to win a share of £125,000 cash give away thanks to The Mail’s ‘Reader’s Choice Cash for Charities’ fund.

This would help make a massive difference to the future of Ford Park.

The Mail’s parent company’s charitable arm – The Gannett Foundation is giving £125k in cash to support local charities and The Mail has announced that it has £25k to give away to charities in the local area.

Where the money should be allocated is down to the readers of The Mail, and they are being asked to nominate their favourite local charities to be considered for a grant.

Once nominations have been received, The Mail’s Editor will choose 8 of the most popular local charities to be featured in the grant scheme. From there, readers will have 4 weeks to collect tokens from the paper which can be sent to collection points across the region – or posted, Each token collected will be used to allocate cash to the nominated charity. The higher percentage of tokens a charity receives means they get a greater share of the money.

Ford Park is a wonderful community space and hosts events such as open- air theatre productions, Alfresco Flicks, historic re-enactments, fabulous workshops, as well as ParkRun and helping play a part in Carnival and various headline festivals throughout the year.

So please play your part in keeping this fantastic green space accessible for years to come and nominate Ford Park.

You can nominate Ford Park Community Group here: www.nwemail.co.uk/readerschoice