Nationwide Building Society asks members to vote online for the charities they would like to receive a £5,000 donation, as part of the Society’s initiative – The Big Local – and make a difference to lives and communities across the UK. Each month Nationwide selects three charities nominated by its members from a different UK region. The three chosen charities will each be awarded £200 and both the public and Nationwide members can vote for which of the three they would most like to receive an additional £5,000.

With the Royal Mail’s postmen and women working six days a week delivering letters and parcels to 29 million addresses, dog attacks are unfortunately a common issue which increase by a quarter during the school holidays when children and parents are at home and pets are left to roam the garden. If your postie is worried about their safety when entering your property, they have a legal right to refuse delivery to you.

The search is on to find the UK’s most dog-friendly places, as the Kennel Club launches its Be Dog Friendly Awards 2016. The competition, now in its tenth year, is part of the wider Be Dog Friendly campaign which aims to break down barriers for man’s best friend by encouraging more businesses and public spaces to welcome dogs.  With around 8.5 million dogs in the UK, and around one in four households owning a dog, the great British public are always on the lookout for places where their four-legged family members are also welcome.

Musical Connections, a community music and wellbeing project based in Birmingham, is appealing for votes in this year's National Lottery Good Causes Awards. The project, run by Quench Arts and delivered in partnership with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Community Engagement Team, beat off competition from more than 600 organisations to reach the public voting stage of the awards, which each year look for worthy projects to benefit.

The Ageing Better in Birmingham programme, a Big Lottery Fund investment project designed to support isolated people over 50 across the city, was officially launched last week. Ageing Better in Birmingham will be delivered by a partnership of voluntary sector organisations. The Ageing Better Partnership, led by Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC), was allocated £6million to deliver the six year programme.  

A volunteer counselling scheme that helps more than 100 children and young people a week has been nominated for a West Midlands PCC Outstanding Citizens award. The volunteering team at The What? Centre in Coventry Street, Stourbridge, helps young people aged between 13 and 25 who are troubled or battling mental health issues. All of the volunteers are trained counsellors who give up their free time to help 120 youngsters a week via 5,500 sessions a year.