A charity has appealed for support to win a national competition in the hope it can boost its services.

The Memory Box Foundation, based in Southampton, has been selected as one of 12 finalists in Selco Builders Warehouse's Community Heroes competition.

With nearly 2,000 entries, the competition offers a top prize of £5,000, with the runner-up receiving £1,000.

A public vote is currently open to decide the winner, which will be announced on November 30. Votes can be cast at selcobw.com/info/selco-community-heroes.

All finalists, chosen by judges over the past six months, have already secured £500 worth of building materials from Selco, with a branch located at Millbrook Industrial Estate, Southampton.

Kayte West, co-founder of the Memory Box Foundation, said: "We support people living with dementia or poor mental health, who are lonely or live in social isolation.

"We work with around 6,000 people a year and our projects have the ability to improve people's wellbeing.

"Winning the £5,000 would make the world of difference and would allow us to launch a new project called HOLD.

"People with learning disabilities are often sidelined by museums.  We would love to be able to take our resources to them in a specially curated way so they have the same opportunities as everybody else."

Simon Humpage, head of multi-channel marketing at Selco, said: "Our Community Heroes campaign has once again captured the country’s imagination with nearly 2,000 good causes getting involved.

"We have already supported a dozen monthly winners with £6,000 worth of product and we’re excited to head into the next stage of the competition.

"We’ve had some amazing entries so The Memory Box Foundation has done exceptionally well to make it this far. The prize money would make a huge difference to the work they do in the local area."

The Memory Box Foundation supports individuals living with dementia, mental health issues, or social isolation across Hampshire and Dorset.

The aim is to engage dementia-suffering residents and socially isolated individuals in multi-sensory activities.

For more information about Selco Builders Warehouse, visit selcobw.com.

The Memory Box Foundation is urging supporters to vote and help them secure the funding needed to enhance their services further.