TWO Worcestershire-based projects will receive a total of £156,666 from the BBC’s Children in Need over the next three years to support their work.

The West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC) has been awarded a three-year grant of £98,806 to support children and young people who have experienced any form of sexual abuse through specialist one-to-one and group child-focused support.

The money will go towards a project aiming to improve the well-being and self-esteem of the children and young people they support, as well as building their resilience.

While the youth and community project Your Ideas Ltd, in Redditch, has been allocated a three-year grant of £57,860 to provide clubs and activities for children and young people with Asperger’s and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The awards have just been announced and are part of the first funding round of 2017 form BBC Children in Need. It means the charity now has more than £741,000 invested locally benefitting 13 projects.

Projects currently receiving funding in Worcestershire include Mentor Link in Stourport-on-Severn which was awarded £73,439 in 2016 to support its work with children and young people in the area. The three-year grant is used to deliver weekly, one to one emotional and social support to vulnerable and distressed young people across Worcestershire in one of their well-being centres.

YSS in Worcester also benefit from BBC Children in Need funding through a grant of £44,654, which provides a range of activities and support for young carers in Worcestershire.

Elsewhere, a grant of £9,920 to the ‘What Makes You Different Makes You Beautiful’ project supports the project deliver stay and play sessions with sensory soft play equipment to disabled children and young people.

WMRSASC, which has recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, offers a range of free confidential services for women and men, adults and children. It now employs about 30 staff and has 55 volunteers offering a face-to-face service to nearly 1,700 clients a year. It also receives around 1,300 helpline calls across Worcestershire and Herefordshire each year.

Despite a massive expansion in its services and an increased awareness of the issues involved in rape and sexual abuse, clients end up on a long waiting list due to lack of funding.

Jocelyn Anderson, chief executive officer at WMRSASC, said: "We are so grateful to BBC Children in Need for this funding.

“The children and young people we support are incredibly vulnerable, but through this funding we will be able to offer vital support that will help them come to terms with what has happened to them, while building their self-esteem and resilience. It really will go on to make a difference.”

The grant for Your Ideas Ltd will provide fun activities and trips for the children and young people, encouraging learning through play and working to reduce isolation whilst building the young people's confidence and independence.

Simon Marshall, director at Your Ideas Ltd, said: "BBC Children in Need has supported Your Ideas Ltd since 2011 and this new award will enable us to continue to support children and young people in the area with Asperger’s and ASD.

“The ongoing support from BBC Children in Need has also enabled us to develop and grow our programme of support, and we are now also able to offer support services for parents of children with Asperger’s and ASD.

“It sounds simple, but providing activities and trips where children and young people can play, make friends and have fun really does make a huge difference to their lives. "

Melinda Connelly, BBC Children in Need regional head of the Central Region, said: “We are delighted to be announcing the first allocation of funding for 2017. All of the projects we fund work to make a real difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people, and these recently awarded projects really will go on to change young lives in the area.”

BBC Children in Need's chief executive Simon Antrobus added: “These grants ensure children and young people from all across the UK that are facing a range of disadvantages including abuse, isolation, bereavement and homelessness are safe, happy and secure and able to reach their potential. To all of our fundraisers who make it all possible, thank you.”

BBC Children in Need awards grants at seven points during the year and funds two types of grants, both of which are open to new or existing applicants.

A Main Grants Programme is for grants over £10,000 per year to support projects for up to three years. Meanwhile, a Small Grants Programme includes grants up to and including £10,000, and has been refreshed to support projects for up to three years.

Those running projects working with children and young people facing any kind of disadvantage can find out more on how to apply for funding at bbc.co.uk/pudsey/grants.

BBC Children in Need relies on the support and creativity of thousands of fundraisers and supporters across the UK who donate their time, money and energy to help raise millions for the charity. Whether raised by baking cakes, going on rambles, putting on quizzes or taking part in dress up days, all the money raised helps make a difference.

• BBC Children in Need’s vision is that every child in the UK has a safe, happy and secure childhood and the chance to reach their potential.

• The charity is currently supporting 2,400 projects in communities across the UK helping children facing a range of disadvantages such as, poverty and deprivation, children who have been the victims of abuse or neglect or disabled young people.

• The BBC's first ever broadcast appeal for children was a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day in 1927. The first televised appeal was the 1955 'Children's Hour Christmas Appeal', presented by Sooty and Harry Corbett. The Christmas Day Appeals continued on TV and radio right up until 1979, raising a total of £625,836.

• The presenters included Terry Hall, Eamonn Andrews, Leslie Crowther, Michael Aspel and the rising star of the Radio 2 Breakfast Show - Terry Wogan - who made his debut appearance in 1978.

• In 1980 the appeal was broadcast on BBC One in a new telethon format, hosted by Terry with Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen. It captured the public's imagination to such an extent that the donations increased dramatically and broke the million mark for the very first time.

• Since the first major appeal in 1980, BBC Children in Need has raised over £890 million to help make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people around the UK. BBC Children in Need 2016 Appeal night raised £46,624,259.