Thirteen charities from across the South West will be celebrating this week after each receiving a £1,000 from Bristol health insurer BCWA.

The 13 charities chosen by the Bristol firm are:

The Jessie May Trust, which provides a hospice at home service of nursing care and respite for children with a terminal illness.

South West Children's Hospice.

Avon Riding School for the Disabled (Henbury).

St Peter's Hospice.

The Wild Goose Café, which provides people who are in the middle of difficult and destructive situations (addiction, homeless, etc) with the chance to meet people who can help.

The Lauriston Hotel for the blind in Weston-super-Mare.

The Rainbow Centre (Bristol) – provides therapy for children affected by cancer, life-threatening illness and bereavement.

Easton Under Canvas, set up through Easton Primary School in 2006 with a desire to take children from their inner city primary school to camp in the countryside.

The Hearing Impaired Support Scheme (HISS).

The Broad Plain Boys Club, an inner-city multi-racial youth project, using sport as a platform to engage all young people in purposeful activities.

Julian's Trust – night shelter for the homeless in Bristol.

Penny Brohn Cancer Care.

The Peace Garden at Holy Cross Primary School.

These charitable organisations join a range of good causes that BCWA has supported over the year.

These include award-winning local dance group the Dark Angels, which as a result of BCWA's donation, was able attend the World Dance Championships in America and the Bristol Sea Cadets, who appealed for donations after an arson attack destroyed their training boat.

As well as donating money to local causes, this year saw BCWA team up with national cancer charity Prostate UK to hold Bristol's Pants in the Park charity fun run in June and get the community involved in raising much-needed funds for research into prostate cancer diseases.

And it's not just the Bristol community which has benefited. BCWA's charity committee arranged for two members of its staff to travel to Brazil earlier this year to lend a hand in building a community medical centre in the remote Kalungus region of the country.

BCWA managing director Jamie Wilson said: "The charity committee wanted to make a difference to a number of local charities in Bristol over Christmas especially during these financially challenging times.

"We decided to give £1,000 to each organisation, many of which we'd already supported throughout 2008 at various times with money or volunteer days.

"Having been part of the Bristol business community for more than 70 years, BCWA has always tried to work closely with the community, and despite changing its business model to reflect modern- day needs, the company has strived to retain its emphasis on ethical values and honesty in its daily approach."

In recognition of its contribution to the local community, BCWA was awarded the Post's Community Business Award in 2007 and was named as the country's Best Health Insurance Company at the Health Insurance awards in October.