Leading East Midlands charity, Star Trust – The Charitable Entrepreneurs, has finished its tenth anniversary year by presenting cheques to four local charities.

Charities were awarded funding of more than £37,000 which was raised from the Star Trust's motoring day at Silverstone Circuit in association with Aston Martin.

Those who attended the presentation were:

• Bipolar Lift CIC which extends holistic, no-cost support to individuals living with bipolar disorder and their families in Nottinghamshire
• Bodie Hodges families bereavement support service in Leicestershire and Rutland to provide 100 early therapeutic counselling sessions to adults and children.
• British Disabled Angling Association to support adults, young people and children, with physical, sensory and learning disabilities, or terminal illness to enjoy the experience of fishing at Ladybower Fisheries in Derbyshire's Peak District.
• Life Skills Education whose Keep on Track programme supports primary school pupils across Nottinghamshire to lead safe and healthy lives and achieve their potential.

Star Trust is run by charitable entrepreneurs and business leaders who are committed to supporting their local communities across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Rutland.

Since its launch ten years ago, Star Trust has supported 112 charities with a total of £846,142 and has directly touched the lives of 62,232 people in the East Midlands area.

Star Trust founder Steve Hampson said: "We are proud of the support we have provided right across the East Midlands in this, our tenth anniversary year.

"Plans are in place to grow the charity over the next decade and our short term goal is to reach the £1 million fundraising mark in 2024.

"Since our launch, we have organised up to three high profile events a year with all the money raised going to small charities across the region who apply for funding."

He continued: "Moving forwards, we are looking to supplement this with a corporate giving programme which will enable us to handle the funding applications, site visits and due diligence process on behalf of our partner businesses to achieve the greatest impact for their CSR commitments.

"Not only will this save time and resources for like-minded businesses of all sizes, it will increase the spending power through the Star Trust so that we can be the conduit to making an even greater positive impact on people's lives in our local communities.

"Business partners will be able to ring fence where the money they raise and then donate through Star Trust goes – whether that is a geographical area or sector.

"The application process is very straightforward so that it is accessible to even the smallest of charities and we look forward to helping even more organisations in the coming year."

For more information about supporting Star Trust or applying for funding, visit the Star Trust website.