CHILDREN will benefit from grants totalling almost £240,000, awarded to two Newport-based projects by BBC Children in Need.

St David's Hospice Care, which provides a range of hospice services for thousands of people across Newport, Torfaen, Monmouthshire and Caerphilly, receives £118,502 to boost the counselling service it provides for bereaved children and young people.

And Community House (Eton Road) receives £119,987 to provide a youth club for children and young people. Funding for both projects is for three years.

The St David's Hospice Care Unicorn project - launched 10 years ago with help from BBC Children in Need - involves individual and group sessions for children and young people, providing a supportive structure designed to help them better cope with their feelings and improve their confidence.

“The children and young people we meet have experienced extreme emotional distress as a result of the terminal illness of a parent or loved one and their eventual passing," said Gillian Tanner, senior manager for patient support services.

"During their time with us, we want to create a supportive space where they can learn how to tell their own story by helping them find the right words to describe how they are feeling.

"The support we are able to offer makes such a difference to the young people we meet, at what is an incredibly difficult time for them so, to everyone at BBC Children in Need, I want to say thank you, because the funding you have provided really does make a difference.”

The Community House in Eton Road, off Corporation Road, intends its youth club to provide a safe place for children and young people to spend time with friends, learn new skills and strengthen their feeling of belonging within the local community.

The grants come from BBC Children in Need's main grants programme. Currently, it has more than £540,000 invested locally in seven projects.

“We are proud to be awarding funding to these incredible projects, and cannot wait to see the difference they make to young lives," said Melinda Connelly, interim BBC Children in Need national head of Wales.