CHILDREN across the district have benefitted from the annual Children's In Need charity drive, which this year takes place tomorrow, with some groups saying money from the annual event has proved to be a "lifeline".

More than 20 groups have so far received funding from the BBC's event, which enables them to help at risk children in the district in several different ways, from providing counselling to activities to keep children from getting involved in anti-social behaviour.

In total £1,152,230 has been awarded to the groups in Bradford.

One of the groups to have benefitted is the Edge Project. Based in the Holme Wood estate, the community group has been given £74,997 over a period of three years to provide youth club drop in sessions for young people in the area.

It gives young people from the area the opportunity to play pool, air hockey, table football but also provides specialist sessions on volunteering, drug and alcohol advice, anti-bullying and sessions for young couples.

Adam Woodhouse, senior youth worker, said the funding had allowed it to hire a new youth worker, which has allowed it to offer more sessions for the area's young girls.

He said: "We're very early into getting the funding but it is definitely helping. We are able to offer a lot of sessions for girls. There isn't much in the local area specifically for girls. Before the Children In Need funding we only had male staff, so this lets us focus more on the needs of girls in the area who are more comfortable talking to a female.

"We're also planning to set up a drop in session for young carers where they can get a hot meal."

Based at the child development centre at St Luke's Hospital, the Bradford Toy Library works like a normal library - families of children with special needs can borrow specialist toys. Created over two decades age, it relies on donations, and Children In Need has granted it £9,726 over the period of a year to provide sensory stimulating sessions and one to one play sessions to cater for disabled children. The toys they have been able to purchase with the grant will specifically be able to help children with vision problems.

Other groups that have benefitted from CIN funding include the Adil Rashid Cricket Academy, off Barkerend Road, which has been awarded £9,360 to provide cricket sessions for disabled young people, the Peacemaker International Project, which was given £9,992 to support young girls in the community, and the Keyhouse Project, with bases in Bradford and Keighley, which got £89,613 over three years to help the children of families with "housing difficulties."

The Highfield Community Association in Keighley was given a grant of £99,698 to provide emotional and mental health services to children in the area and the Bradford Youth Development Partnership, which was awarded £114,506 over three years to provide sports sessions to children with "challenging" behaviour to keep them out of trouble.

And the Small World Arts Collective, based in Keighley, was awarded £52,352 over three years to provide educational and social support for children after school.

Some of the groups that get the funding offers services that are increasing important as cuts start to bite in regards to medical and social care. The Step 2 young people's health project offers counselling to young people who are experiencing emotional trauma. Based on Tong Street, the charity offers young people ages 11-19 the help do deal with a range of issues from low self esteem to sexual health. It has been given a grant of £65,173 over three years. Pauline Mullarkey, counselling manager, said: "It isn't a time limited service, which is really beneficial. Some young people only want to speak for a short amount of time, others need longer.

"This funding has enabled us to get more counsellors which means more sessions with young people, and we can be a lot more flexible. We don't have to be in our building, we can go out to other areas to talk to young people. It's very important that we can be where they are.

"Cuts to public sector funding are really starting to have an impact on mental health support for young people - it is becoming increasingly difficult to access. We are able to see young people very quickly and hopefully help with their issues before they escalate beyond control.

"You see the results when you are working with a young person and they eventually say 'I don't need this anymore.'"

ESCAYP is based in Gomersal, but offers services across West Yorkshire. It also offers counselling to disadvantaged young people, from 3 to 21, and has been given £70,190 over three years to allow for more one on one sessions.

Peter Lorimer, group chairman, said: "This money enables us to deliver more counselling. We do a lot of this work in rooms that are donated to us in places like libraries and children's centres. It means young people aren't having to go to a building with a big NHS sign on it. The research into young people who have been involved with us is very encouraging."

The Woodside Community Neighbourhood Group offers activities and advice for young people in Woodside and Buttershaw. It got a Children in Need grant of £91,404 to provide activities in the area that help keep young people out of trouble.

Andy Walsh, a manager at the group, said: "We have started a specific girls group that deals with specific issues girls have in the community. We keep trying to give children different activities, and every child that comes through our door gets a hot meal.

"Without Children In Need we wouldn't have most of these services on offer. It was a real life line, before they came in we were likely to close."