AS part of our 170th anniversary celebrations, the County Gazette has launched a Community Fund to give a platform to the exceptional voluntary work which goes on throughout our community.

We have been asking organisations to write in and tell us why they need fundraising support.

We are featuring one group each week in the County Gazette, and this week its the turn of the Kingsmead School Society, in Wiveliscombe.

Kingsmead Community School Society KINGSMEAD School Society is a registered charity and raises funds for the school in Wiveliscombe, a fully inclusive school with 20% of students having special educational needs.

This year, we are raising money to replace the ageing minibus.

It is important that the new minibus also has disabled access for physically disabled students but this adds significantly to the amount we have to raise.

The minibus adds an important extra dimension to school life and is used by the majority of students at some point during their schooling.

The PE department regularly use the minibus to transport students to sports fixtures; the Duke of Edinburgh programme has 60-70 participants annually and the minibus is crucial in transporting students for their expeditions; special needs students use the minibus for accessing alternative curriculum options like horse-riding, rural skills and swimming.

Donations, made payable to Kingsmead School Society, can be sent to the Treasurer, Kingsmead School Society, Wiveliscombe TA4 2NE.

ö The Albemarle Centre ö The New Build Appeal, St Margaret's Hospice ö ESCAPE Support Group providing activities for disabled children and their families ö Mindline Somerset ö SAB C Somerset Association for the Blind ö Taunton Well Woman Centre ö Home-Start Taunton Deane ö Somerset Wildlife Trust ö 1st Wellington Scout Group ö East Somerset Railway ö Kingsmead School Society ö Chedzoy Pre-School ö HELP C Holiday Endeavour for Lone Parents ö St John Ambulance Taunton Combined Adult Division ö Somerset Cancer Care ö Victim Support Somerset ö The Open Door C Taunton's homeless charity ö North Town Primary School (new sensory room planned for special needs children) ö Norton Fitzwarren Village Hall Chair Appeal ö Norton Fitzwarren Pre-School ö Moon Bear Rescue (Quantocks based) ö Somerset Prostate Cancer Support Association ö Reminiscence Learning ö Conquest Centre ö Taunton Sea Cadets ö Pawlett Village Playgroup ö Taunton Vale Disability Club ö Wellington St John Ambulance ö Selworthy School ö BIBIC, Pawlett ö Carer Support Programme (CSP) helping parents who bring up/care for disabled children in the county ö Labrador Rescue Trust in Somerset ö Hemyock Pre-School ö Huish Woods Scout Camp Site C also the centenary year of Scouting ö Buckland St Mary Pre-School ö Taunton Beekeepers ö Holy Cross Church, Hillfarrance ö Taunton & District Mencap ö Taunton Womens Refuge ö Staplegrove Scout Group ö SASBAH Somerset Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus ö Taunton Deane Association for Neighbourhood Care ö Taunton Opportunity Playgroup ö Ruishton Ladies C knitting ö Helens Rabbit and Guinea Pig Boarding and Rescue ö Taunton Citizens Advice Bureau ö Macmillan Cancer Support ö To apply, e-mail communityfund@countygazette.co.uk or write to Community Fund, Somerset County Gazette, St James Street, Taunton TA1 1JR. Include 150 words about the cause and its fundraising need/s, with details of how readers can make donations.