A DOZEN community groups across the Bradford district could be boosted by grants of up to £3,000 from Lloyds Bank, depending on the results of a public vote.

The 12 good causes have been shortlisted to receive a share of the bank's biggest Community Fund to date, with funding pots worth £3,000, £2,000, £1,000 and £500 up for grabs.

More than 66,000 people across Yorkshire and the Humber are set to benefit from the good work delivered as a result of the 2014 awards, with two-thirds of groups due to use the grants to deliver new projects or extend existing schemes.

A third of the projects are focused on improving the lives of young people across the region, with a quarter linked to groups working with people with disabilities or mental health issues.

There are four local groups shortlisted in three different communities across the Bradford district, all in with a chance of receiving a grant depending on the number of votes they receive.

David Nicholson, Yorkshire and Humberside Ambassador for Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We are incredibly proud to be able to support more community groups than ever before across Yorkshire and Humberside to continue their vital work.

"This year your vote can make a significant difference to the amount awarded to each community group, so I encourage everyone to take a moment to champion a good cause locally and cast a vote."

In the Bradford North catchment area, the four groups in line for a funding boost are Parenting Together, the Lower Grange Community Association, musical theatre group the Bradford Youth Players, and Cancer Support Bradford & Airedale.

In Bradford South, the groups bidding for a grant are the Eccleshill Horticultural Society, the Bradford Toy Library and Resource Centre, volunteering charity The Vine Trust, and St James the Great Church in Pudsey.

In the Horsforth section of the awards, the Bone Cancer Research Trust, Menston Community Association, Bramley Elderly Action, and the Cookridge-based religious charity Caring for Life are also looking for votes.

Another Bradford-based charity, The Buttercup Trust, has been shortlisted in the North Yorkshire section of the awards as it wants to use the money to set up a free, adapted holiday home for families on the county's east coast.

The trust supports children who suffer from serious or terminal injuries, including Drighlington toddler Abbie Venner, who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, whose family are aiming to raise £8,000 for a specialised medical vest to help with her breathing.

Debi Mackney, the group's fundraising co-ordinator, said that "more than half" of requests to the charity were linked to families asking for somewhere they could take a respite break.

"For a lot of families we support a holiday is an extremely difficult and expensive endeavour, so this funding would make an amazing difference," she said.

Public voting is open until Friday, and votes can be cast in Lloyds Bank branches, online, by SMS text message and, for the first time, via Twitter.

For details, visit www.lloydsbank.com/communityfund.