Chinese community centre surprised with £100,000 of National Lottery funding
A Chinese community centre in Birmingham received a £100,000 surprise last week from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.
Chinese Community Centre Birmingham, based on Bradford Street in Digbeth, received a surprise visit from staff from The National Lottery Community Fund, who made the special visit on Thursday 7 March to announce the good news.
The money, raised by National Lottery players, will be used to improve staffing at the centre so that more activities, such as cooking and table tennis, can be provided for people from the Chinese community. Around 80 to 100 people currently benefit from the centre and this is set to increase by 50% within two years thanks to the funding boost.
Anna Yim, CEO at Chinese Community Centre Birmingham, said: “I was so happy, excited and shocked when we received the news that we had been awarded National Lottery funding. This money will make a big difference to our community. It will help us to expand and offer more activities to improve people’s wellbeing and reduce isolation and loneliness. We haven’t been so lucky with receiving this amount of money before so we are very grateful.”
Matt Poole, Senior Head of Regional Funding for the Midlands at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “It was fantastic surprising Chinese Community Centre Birmingham with the good news that they had been awarded National Lottery funding. The Chinese community in Birmingham has led the way in telling us their needs, what matters to them and the changes they want to see. Thanks to National Lottery players, more activities will be provided to the Chinese community which will bring them together to thrive.”
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Last year it awarded over half a billion pounds (£508.5 million) and supported over 11,000 projects across the UK for health, education, environment and charitable purposes. To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk