£90 million National Lottery boost set to help communities across England rebuild after challenging two years
Almost £90 million of vital National Lottery funding has gone to communities across England over the last three months[1]. This significant investment, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, has been awarded to more than 2,700 community groups and projects across the country, working hard in different ways to support local people to prosper and thrive.
Grants awarded range from £350 up to £950,000 and have been made in direct response to community needs, supporting projects focussed on key areas, such as economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach net zero by 2050.
The funding comes at an important time for communities. It will support ongoing efforts to rebuild after two incredibly challenging years, as well as participation in #Celebrate2022, a year of national pride and celebration. This includes Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, which will bring the nation together and is expected to give community spirit a post-Pandemic boost.
Nearly 40% or £34 million of funding awarded this quarter has reached the most deprived areas in England[2], including Blackburn, Rotherham and Torbay.
Projects funded here include a digital café in Blackburn offering advice and support on computer skills, finance, budgeting and healthy eating, a group in Rotherham providing volunteering opportunities so those out of work can build work and social skills, and another in Torbay providing advice and support to unpaid carers.
John Mothersole, Chair of England Committee at The National Lottery Community Fund, says: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this funding is going to make a difference at an important time. As the country leaves the pandemic behind and begins a year of national celebration, communities are working hard to reconnect, rebuild and grow. Our funded groups and projects are at the forefront – their incredible efforts are strengthening communities, changing lives and providing the tools and support for people to prosper and thrive. We are proud to fund them and look forward to seeing the impact they make over the months and years to come.”
National Lottery funding makes a real difference to people and communities. According to The National Lottery Community Fund’s ‘Putting Communities First: Our impact report, 2016-17 to 2020-21’, in the last 5 years, 97%
of grant holders reported improvements in their participants’ mental health, self-esteem and social contact, and 42% reported more local pride and belonging because of the services and activities funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
Examples of projects funded in the last three months:
One of the groups to receive funding is Cambridgeshire charity Connecting Carers which has been awarded over £350,000 to provide vital respite and support for carers across West Anglia. The charity will provide information, emotional and practical support for adults, young adults and young carers. They have already reached out to over 11,000 carers with support, including accessing information and guidance, emotional support through its ‘Listening Ear’ service, and providing home care to give carers a respite or a chance to attend to their own health needs.
Melanie Gray, Deputy Chief Executive at Connecting Carers, said: “Looking after a family member or friend can be a hugely rewarding but very demanding role. There can be significant impacts on carers’ health and well-being due to isolation. Many people have struggled during the Coronavirus pandemic, but life has been even harder for those looking after someone. Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund, we are going to be able to do more to help carers in ways that will make a big difference to them.”
London based charity, The Chartwell Children's Cancer Trust has received £10,000 funding to create an app that will help families and reassure young patients as they deal with a cancer diagnosis. Charley Scott’s family have benefited from the support of the charity since their youngest daughter’s diagnosis when she was just two years old. Now they are using their experience to help other families in the same position.
The free app will unlock support from the earliest stages of diagnosis to equip young patients and families with the resources needed to make fully informed decisions and choices about how to best navigate complex care and treatment journeys. They are working with Kings College Hospital who are providing a team of oncologists to oversee the information being put on the app, ensuring the information is factually correct.
“When we found out about our daughter’s diagnosis, we were given just two sheets of paper and that was kind of it, we spent the first while wanting and needing more help. When you first get a cancer diagnosis you think the worst, you are immediately flung into this world that you don’t want to be part of but suddenly are and there’s no way out,” explained Charley.
“This app will mean that when parents get this cancer diagnosis there is somewhere to go which has all the correct information you need, and you don’t have to rely on searching google where you could be misled by what you read.”
Vulcan Boxing Club in Hull is another group to benefit from the latest National Lottery investment. Thanks to a £300,000 grant they can support young people, particularly the growing number of migrants in the area for whom English is a second language, by providing free gym membership, food parcels, employment advice, education and training.
Seb Glazer, Managing Director of the Vulcan Boxing Club said: “We have recently had our funding renewed for three more years, which has been a massive boost to everyone in the project. Over the course of the last three years our membership has grown from just over 1,000 to almost 7,000 with members coming from all over Hull and the East Riding. National Lottery funding has allowed us to support vulnerable young people, to listen to their voices and to assist them to achieve their potential. For organisations such as ours, The National Lottery Community Fund is a vital lifeline. We would like to thank all the players of the lottery who make this possible."
To celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, Birmingham group Francis Road Allotments is using £10,000 funding to create a wildflower garden to commemorate the milestone. The project aims to bring people together and improve accessibility for disabled members of the community. In Cornwall, South Hill Association for Renewable Energy is using their £10,000 funding to create a community orchard which will provide a space for residents to connect to nature by increasing biodiversity.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week across the UK for good causes. The National Lottery Community Fund as a distributor ensures a share of this funding goes straight to communities, helping them to tackle important issues such as supporting young people into employment, mental health and climate action.
In the last 12 months it has given out nearly £600 million to 12,500 organisations reaching every local authority and constituency in the UK.
To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk
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