Nine local charities received donations totalling nearly $500,000 from the Bank of Bermuda Foundation during the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008.

A statement from the foundation, which has donated more than $39.3 millionsince 1989, said the following were chosen because they offer long-term benefits to the Island:

• Age Concern, which is currently managing the STATS programme (Seniors' Test for Ageing Trends and Services), an individual assessment of the needs of every senior in Bermuda. This will be used to create a database in order to match seniors to service providers.

• Bermuda Cricket Board, which has established a scholarship fund to assist promising young cricketer Greg Maybury with his academic and athletic development. Maybury has been accepted to attend the prestigious Oakham School in the UK, and started in April.

• Bermuda End to End, one of the Island's largest and most successful one-day charity fund-raising event in support of a range of charities each year.

• Bermuda International Film Festival, which showcases independent films and documentaries from Bermuda and around the world, produced by emerging and veteran directors that provoke, entertain and enlighten.

• Bermuda Festival, aiming to provide a diverse selection of live performances by world acclaimed artists appealing to all members of the community every year, with 12,000 to 16,000 people attending the performances.

• Bermuda National Gallery, promoting visual arts by creating a collection of significant artworks from Bermuda and worldwide.

• The Family Centre, strengthening and protecting children through the Caring for Families programme, which provides therapeutic family based support to vulnerable children. It is expecting capacity to increase by one third in 2008 as a result of adjustments made to programming to allow for more varied levels of care.

• Wesley Methodist Church, which is looking to restore and preserve the Casavant pipe organ and enhance it by installing digital voices for more enriched sound.

The organ has played an instrumental part in the life of the church and has not had a major restoration for more than 40 years.

• Women's Resource Centre, which provides individual counselling, parenting classes, a 24-hour crisis hotline, education in public schools, Police training, protection to victims of domestic crime through the courts, ten-week public information seminars and education to community groups. It is looking to hire a full-time clinical supervisor to provide individual counselling, parenting programmers and group and overseas programmers.