Local MSP Sandra White today urged the people of Glasgow Kelvin to cast their vote to give three community projects the change to win awards of £6,000 each.

The Royal Bank of Scotland CommunityForce scheme offers local groups and charities the change to win £6,000. Local people are given the opportunity to vote for their favourite projects and the three groups with the most votes in one area will be awarded £6,000 each.

Lines for voting opened on 26 September, but the CommunityForce website crashed as more then 17,000 tried to log on to vote for their local project. The website is working again but due to the initial problem RBS decided to extend the deadline by one day to 24 October.

Commenting on the RBS CommunityForce project Sandra White MSP for Glasgow Kelvin said: "This is a fantastic scheme which tries to encourage as much people as possible to actively support local groups and to engage with the communities they live in.

"Westminster spending cuts put immense budgetary pressure on the third sector and therefore initiatives like the RBS CommunityForce are vital to guarantee that local charities and groups are able to continue their work.

"It is so easy, simply visit the Community Force website where you can view all applications in your local area and vote for your favourite project.

"I was delighted to see that over 17,000 people in Scotland had wanted to cast their vote on the first day. People in Glasgow Kelvin have the opportunity to vote on 27 projects and I strongly encourage everyone in my constituency to use this opportunity to support our local groups."