A CHARITY fund which has donated more than £62,000 to good causes in Huddersfield has reached a milestone.

Yorkshire Building Society’s charitable foundation has now donated more than £3m to worthy causes since it was launched 10 years ago.

More than 7,000 charities and community groups have been assisted, including 316 in the Huddersfield area.

Half of the £3m total was donated by the society’s members as part of its Small Change, Big Difference scheme.

The first foundation cheque was presented in 1999 and since then the number of donations has increased year on year. In 2008, some 1,999 donations were made totalling more than £400,000.

Already in 2009, more than 600 charities and good causes have been nominated for support.

The Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society has its roots in Huddersfield – where it maintains several branches.

The charitable foundation receives a large amount of its funding through the unique Small Change, Big Difference scheme.

Through the scheme, society members donate just the pennies from the interest they earn on their accounts which together makes a huge pot of money. Society members are then invited to nominate charities and good causes to receive support.

Last year, more than 85% of causes that received a donation were nominated by a society member.

Spokeswoman Louise Neill said: “Over 630,000 accounts currently participate in the Small Change, Big Difference scheme and this number is growing every day.

“Members of the scheme donate no more than 99p a year on an account – an average of 47p – and have the opportunity to nominate a charity or good cause to receive a much larger donation.”

She added: “We are absolutely delighted to have reached £3m worth of donations!

“We aim to support charities and good causes that are important to the Society’s members and staff in their local communities and over 7,000 causes across the UK have benefited.”

Causes supported locally last year range from Macmillan Cancer Support, Kirkwood Hospice at Dalton, Huddersfield RSPCA and the British Wireless for the Blind Fund to Birdsedge village hall, Huddersfield Crusaders Majorettes and Longley School.