£750,000 funding boost for Northern Ireland groups from National Lottery Awards for All

Today a total of 85 groups across Northern Ireland are sharing in £748,809 from The National Lottery Awards for All programme.

Hands That Talk, based in Dungiven, are using funding of £9,971 to deliver a programme of activities to support deaf and hard of hearing people living in the north west. Activities will include courses on mindfulness, flower arranging and aerobics, as well as deaf awareness and sign language classes.

CTS Limited, based in Coalisland, are using a grant of £9,576 to buy IT equipment including computers, software and printers to run an intergenerational IT project. The project will bring people together from different age groups to build new skills and strengthen relationships.

Invisible Traffick NI, based in Newtownards, is using a £9,930 grant to run a programme for young people in care to raise awareness of human trafficking.

Also receiving funding is The Birches Cosy Club. The community organisation, based near Portadown, is using a grant of £9,619 to run a range of activities for older people including arts and crafts and a trip to the pantomime. They are also buying three new sewing machines for the group to use.

Kate Beggs, The National Lottery Community Fund Northern Ireland Director, said: “I am delighted to announce these grants under our new name, which we hope will help players to better understand the difference they make when they buy a ticket.

“It’s lovely to see National Lottery money being used by people who are taking the lead in developing great ideas to help their communities thrive. Small pots of funding from National Lottery Awards for All are bringing people together to make good things happen. I want to say thanks to all the National Lottery players who have helped make this possible.”

Application forms and guidance notes are available to download at www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk. For more details call us on 028 9055 1455, or e-mail us at enquiries.ni@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk