Suffolk charities are in urgent need for additional funding, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to slash fundraising options and bring new challenges.

So this newspaper's Cash For Charities campaign, which gives good causes the chance to win a share of £20,000, comes at a time when many organisations need it most.

In total, 87 charities in Suffolk and north Essex have signed up to win a share of the money.

The more tokens people collect on their behalf, the larger the sum of money those organisations win.

The tokens are printed every day in the East Anglian Daily Times and Ipswich Star.

Oasis English Language School aims to equip refugees and migrants with the language skills needed to integrate into the community and culture.

Ipswich Star: Debbie Cook is now director of Oasis English Language SchoolDebbie Cook is now director of Oasis English Language School (Image: Philip Charles)

Debbie Cook is the newly-appointed director of the Burlington Road school in Ipswich where, due to social distancing, staff have been unable to hold any language lessons since the first lockdown.

"It's been a very difficult time for us," she said.

"It's quite the challenge for us now as we'll be relaunching the school in September and rely on giving to keep going.

"We are kept going by grants, funds, the kindness of individuals and charge a very small fee to our pupils.

"Teaching materials, expenses, they're a never-ending cost and we also provide a creche for our students who have children."

Ipswich Star: The charity's lessons are for people looking to learn English or improve their language skills to get better jobsThe charity's lessons are for people looking to learn English or improve their language skills to get better jobs (Image: Philip Charles)

The school teaches people from up to 40 different nationalities who have made Ipswich their home. Some need lessons from scratch, while others want to improve their English so they can apply for better jobs.

As the town becomes even more diverse, there are many communities wanting to integrate. The charity teaches mainly women and the most common first languages are Portuguese, Kurdish and Bangladeshi.

Ipswich Star: Funmi Akinriboya runs the BME Suffolk Support GroupFunmi Akinriboya runs the BME Suffolk Support Group (Image: Sarah Lucy Brown)

Funmi Akinriboya runs the BME Suffolk Support Group and works with Afro-Caribbean, Portuguese and other ethnic minority communities in Ipswich.

She said: "We would be so grateful for the Cash for Charities funds because we are a small grassroots charity and it's very difficult when it comes to funding, we don't have enough capacity to get staff that can run a project properly.

"Within the group we have the African Food Pantry every day during the week, supporting the community with food parcels.

"We have a wellbeing forum for people mentally and physically to ask for their needs and find the practical way to support them."

Which charities have already signed up?

  • 1st Brantham Scout & Guide Group
  • 1st Fressingfield Scout Group
  • 6th Old Felixstowe Scout Group
  • Allsorts support services CIC
  • Beccles Men Shed
  • BSEVC Later Life Community
  • Family First
  • Stonham Aspal Village Hall
  • The Somerville Foundation
  • Warren Association Trust
  • Waveney Enterprises Craft Workshop
  • Winston’s wheels charity
  • 1st Bungay (School) Sea Scout Group
  • 1st Mendlesham scout group
  • 1st Southwold and Reydon Scout Group
  • 469 lowestoft air cadets
  • 5th Woodbridge Sea Scouts
  • ActivLives
  • Aldeburgh Museum Charitable Trust
  • Aspect Living Foundation meals on wheels
  • bact community transport
  • Battisford Preschool
  • Bentwaters Cold War Museum
  • BME Suffolk Support Group
  • Broke Hall School Home and School Association
  • Company of Four
  • Disability Advice Service East Suffolk
  • Drinkstone War Memorial Institute
  • Elena Baltacha Foundation
  • Eye Opportunity Group
  • Feed waveney community
  • Felixstowe and district Mencap society
  • Friends of Gusford
  • Friends of St Mary's School, Woodbridge
  • Friends of the Ferns
  • Halesworth Volunteer Centre
  • Home-Start in Suffolk
  • HOSPITAL RADIO IPSWICH
  • Inspire Suffolk
  • Ipswich and East Suffolk Samaritans
  • Ipswich Film Society
  • Ipswich Housing Action Group
  • Ipswich Opportunity Group
  • Kyson Primary School PTFA
  • Lower Somersham Village Hall
  • Lowestoft Museum
  • Mid Suffolk Voluntary Organisations Forum - Red Gables
  • Mistley and Manningtree Welcome Home Trust
  • Nacton school association
  • East Anglian Air Ambulance
  • Oaks Meadow Project
  • Oasis English Language School
  • Oulton Broad Water Sports Centre
  • Papworth Trust
  • Parham Airfield Museum
  • PFC Cedarwood
  • Rattlesden Preschool
  • Riding for the Disabled Woodbridge & District Group
  • Rotary Club of Bungay
  • Seckford Foundation
  • Selig Suffolk Trust
  • Sound On, Ipswich and District Talking Newspaper
  • Southwold Sailors Reading Room
  • St Elizabeth Hospice
  • St Gregory's Church Sudbury
  • St John Ambulance
  • Still Good Food
  • Stowmarket ASD Saturday Clubs
  • Sudbury Newstalk
  • Suffolk Accident Rescue Service
  • Suffolk Oxygen Therapy Centre
  • The ACE Project
  • The Friends of St Andrews Church Wickham Skeith
  • The Friends of St Mary's Bacton
  • The Ipswich Hospital Band
  • The Long Shop Museum
  • The Mix Stowmarket
  • The Salvation Army Woodbridge
  • The Shed
  • The Shelley Centre For Therapeutic Riding For The Disabled
  • The Woolverstone Project
  • Three Rivers Talking Newspaper
  • Tuddenham Village Hall
  • Walsham Le Willows Sports Club CIO
  • Woodbridge Tide Mill Charitable trust
  • Woodlands Pre School

How does it work?

The tokens first started appearing in the paper on Monday, April 26.

These are being collected, counted up, and the money will be shared proportionally to how many have been used for each of the different charities.

Readers will be able to collect the tokens, which will be printed in the EADT and Ipswich Star every day up to Saturday, July 3, to support their favourite charity.

The more tokens you collect, the more money the charity will receive.