CHURCH leaders in Whitefield are celebrating after being given a grant of more than £6,500 to fund a new community project.

Whitefield Methodist Church, in Elms Street, has been given £6,666 by the Asda Foundation to decorate the church halls and side entrance area as part of their Oasis Project — providing a small children’s community soft play area and afternoon teas for the elderly.

Rev Sally Thornton said: "Building upon our enormously popular toddler group on a Thursday morning, The Oasis Project aims to provide a warm, comfortable meeting place to enable families and young children to socialise and network. It will include a small soft play facility so children can play safely, comfy seating, and a small cafe area serving fairtrade refreshments."

The church has already started upgrading its facilities in preparation for the launch in the next few months, and they are also planning to offer afternoon tea events to support their existing befriending scheme.

She added: "We are enormously grateful to Asda Radcliffe, especially Stephen Bonsall for encouraging us to apply to Asda's Significant Community Fund to help us realise our dream, and we continue to raise funds to upgrade the kitchen and cookers, lay non-slip flooring in the halls and install a table top boiler for all those lovely cups of tea and coffee."

Set up in 1988, the Asda Foundation aims to have a positive impact on local communities by providing support to a range of local good causes, chosen by Asda community life representatives across the UK.

Julie Ward, from the Asda Foundation, said: "We see the foundation as one of the many ways to give something back to the communities that support us. That’s why we lend a hand to the wide range of good causes with which our colleagues are involved, sharing their passion and helping to make a difference through a variety of projects across the UK."