A VOLUNTEERING charity has won £150,000 worth of funding for a raft of new projects.

Colchester Community Voluntary Services (CCVS) will use £45,000 to buy a new mini-bus for elderly, infirm or socially isolated people.

It will invest £60,000 in expanding its Time Bank volunteering scheme, where people exchange time and expertise to better each others’ lives.

A further £46,000 will be invested in helping people access Southend Council’s Essential Living Fund, which offers essential goods, such as furniture or white goods, to families in crisis.

The new funding money was awarded through various grants from Essex County Council.