Charities in Merton and Wandsworth benefited from a cash boost from the Wimbledon Foundation ahead of the tennis championships.

Mitcham based children’s grief charity Jigsaw4U and Southfields’ Linden Lodge School for visually impaired students are among those to get a slice of the £56,000 grants from the charitable arm of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).

The awards form the second round of funding from the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund, which in conjunction with the London Community Foundation, distributes £100,000 annually to benefit the community and provide support for local organisations to meet social needs in the Merton and Wandsworth.

This time grants were dished out to 14 community organisations in the two boroughs.

The projects chosen address one or more of the following themes: improving mental and physical health and well-being, addressing education, training and employability needs, addressing poverty, disadvantage and isolation, and encouraging community cohesion.

The grant from the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund will allow Jigsaw4U to fund a co-ordinator to recruit and train volunteers to deliver specialist services to children, young people and their families experiencing a range of social and emotional difficulties.

Stephen Christie, team manager at Jigsaw4U said: "The generosity of the Wimbledon Foundation means that Jigsaw4U will reach a much larger number of children in need over the coming years, and enable us to maintain our high standards of service delivery in this difficult economic climate."

For more information visit www.wimbledon.com/foundation.