FOR Shirley Westerman the arrival of summer is not marked by sunshine, the arrival or Nottingham's Riviera or lighter evenings but by ink-stained fingers.
The membership secretary of Carlton Life Saving Club has taken part in all three Cash For Your Community campaigns.
This year has been no different and for the past month, Mrs Westerman has cut out, collected and delivered hundreds more coupons.
Now that voting has closed and coupons have been counted, all she and the other entrants can do is wait.
"You never really know how well you've done because you don't know how many other groups have collected.
"But I think after the last two years we'll be up there," said Mrs Westerman, 75, of Mapperley.
Any money Carlton Life saving Club receives in the scheme this year will be spent on promoting the club to attract new members.
In the past year, membership has dropped from 80 to 40.
Mrs Westerman said: "We desperately need new members, so we will be concentrating on recruitment this year.
"We'll also keep some of the money because being down on the membership like we are means there is nearly always a shortfall each week when it comes to paying the hire fee."
For coupons to be counted in the Cash For Your Community scheme groups had to get them in to the Post by 5pm on Wednesday, July 17.
They have now been counted and results will be revealed in the Post on Friday, August 9.
Peter Stanhope, of Nottingham Building Society, the Post's partner in Cash For Your Community, was part of the panel responsible for adding up the 119,076 votes received this year.
He said: "This is the third year that we've run the Cash For Your Community initiative with the Post and I think this year, more than ever, we have seen a really diverse range of groups."
The ten groups which have collected the most coupons will be invited to a special presentation evening on Thursday, August 8.
Cheques to other groups will be sent out during the week beginning Monday, August 12.
