Leeds photography project snaps up £9,000 National Lottery funding to put unpaid carers in the frame

A South Leeds arts organisation is celebrating after receiving a National Lottery cash boost of £9,400. Skippko Arts team will use the funding to run a community photography programme for unpaid carers – a group which has had an incredibly difficult time during the pandemic. The hope is to provide positive activities to help improve carers' wellbeing while celebrating their achievements and telling their story. This vital funding has been awarded by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

Arthur Stafford, Director of Skippko, said: “As a carer you’re rarely alone but you can be very emotionally lonely. There are about 74,000 unpaid carers in Leeds... Their health and wellbeing are crucial in a city where the proportion of people above 65 – the age from which more people are cared for – is expected to rise to 18% by 2030.”

Cath Brooke, Arts Project Manager for Skippko said: “What carers get from taking part in this programme is some much needed ‘me time’, being able to switch off and be creative. During the sessions, unless people want to talk about their caring roles, we tend to talk about other things because we want to just focus on the person as an individual. They get to create something that’s meaningful to them. They can focus their photography on what interests them, so we have some members who love nature and wildlife and others who like telling their story by photographing objects around the house.

“One of the strengths of our project is we can be flexible at a moment’s notice, so if we need to move the project online because rates of the virus are increasing, we can. Or move it outside if people feel comfortable with that, or a mixture of the two. Carers often can’t take time away from the person they care for, or suddenly at the last minute they can’t make a session because something happens. We can deal with all eventualities.”

During the lockdowns of 2020, Skippko ran three online ‘at-home’ photography projects for carers, one of which was called Shutter Stories. These gave unpaid carers a chance to be creative and make connections with other carers, receive support, and feel less isolated.

One participant said: “It was great to have something creative to do during lockdown that could alleviate the tensions and worries that come with living through a pandemic. It was very helpful to feel part of the community created by being part of the Shutter Stories group during this very isolating time.”

Commenting on their new National Lottery funding Cath said: “We simply couldn’t run this project without this funding so a huge ‘thank you’ to National Lottery players. The funding will help pay for two professional artists to facilitate the project. It will also cover printing costs as we like to have all the pictures professionally printed and we send them out to the participants, which is a lovely treat for them to see their work like this. At the end of the project, we will also have an exhibition and people are so proud to see their work on display. There will also be a beautifully printed book of their work.”

Joe Dobson, Head of Funding for Yorkshire and Humber at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this vital funding will have a huge impact on people’s lives across Leeds.

“The last year has been incredibly challenging for communities and we applaud the volunteers and groups that have been a lifeline to so many. As we all look to the future, we’re excited to see how local groups will use this funding to further support their communities to prosper and thrive.”

Leeds isn’t alone in benefiting from National Lottery funding. Today it was announced that over £65 million has been distributed to over 1,920 community organisations across England in the past three months*.

Thanks to National Lottery players, this will fund things that matter to communities, such as economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach NET Zero by 2050.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes across the UK, helping people and communities to build back from the pandemic to prosper and thrive. During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, The National Lottery Community Fund distributed almost £1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK.

National lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes across the UK.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk

Date published: 7 December, 2021
Region: England (Yorkshire and the Humber)

Notes to Editors

* These figures are for funding awarded from 11th September – 19th November 2021.

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we support people and communities to prosper and thrive.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.

Our funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people’s lives. We support projects focussed on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach NET Zero by 2050.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects - 255 projects per postcode area.