TODAY marks the start of our Community Chest countdown, which will see 10 deserving groups sharing out a whopping £15,000 bonanza.

This year it’s bigger than ever.

Over the last two years we have given away just over £22,000 to a host of community groups – £12,000 in 2005 and £10,050 in 2006.

But this year, thanks to Barclays, a whopping £15,000 is up for grabs.

And now we can reveal the name of the 10 organisations who applied and have been shortlisted by our panel of judges.

All will be profiled in the Examiner over the next 10 days – and then the real business of voting slip collecting starts, with the organisations amassing the most votes winning cash.

Organisations shortlisted can enlist family and friends to collect voting slips.

The public will be asked to vote on which causes they think are most deserving by collecting the slips and taking them to their nearest Barclays branch, participating newsagents, the Examiner office at Queen Street South near Huddersfield town centre or posting them to our office.

More than 60,000 tokens were sent in last year and the overall winners were The Friends Of Beaumont Park.

Michael Richardson, branch manager of Barclays in Huddersfield, said: “Our involvement in the community is about much more than simply donating money – we strive to strengthen the local communities in which we live and work.

“Wherever we are, our staff are always part of the local community.

“We support a broad range of causes, from local schools to centres for older people, kids’ sports facilities and local hospices.

“If it’s close to home, whether large or small, and it really matters to the local community, we help through donations, skills and expertise.

“The Huddersfield Daily Examiner’s Community Chest programme is a way in which we can help to make a big difference to local causes that have touched the hearts of our customers and the Huddersfield Daily Examiner readers.’’

People can collect the voting slips every day from Monday August 6 to Saturday September 15. Two tokens will be published on Saturdays.

Over the coming days we will reveal more about each organisation and why they need the cash.