A prosperous start to 2019 for 47 Communities

47 communities are starting 2019 with awards from the Big Lottery Fund. In the last month the Big Lottery Fund have given out grants totalling £846,593. The grants are available thanks to people playing the National Lottery and you can find the full list here

Five grants were awarded of nearly £100,000 each, which will encourage local communities to keep some of their new year resolutions with opportunities to improve physical and mental health:

Ospreys in the Community grant of £98,900
Dorian Evans the Employability Co-ordinator from Ospreys in the Community greeted the grant of £97,530 saying:

“We’re absolutely delighted to have been given this award from the Big Lottery Fund which will have such a massive impact on our project. With the funding we will be able to develop our TACKLE programme to work with even more disadvantaged young people aged 12 – 16 who live in our region.

“We’ve had a lot of success so far with our pilot project for TACKLE, but it's really exciting that because of this funding we will be able to work with many more disengaged pupils than before and even more importantly we will be able to work with them for longer. We’ll now be engaging students in a new two year project meaning the impact on their self-confidence and interpersonal skills will be huge, and we will have more time to support them to gain qualifications and employability experience.”

Ospreys in the Community will employ staff and volunteers to deliver their TACKLE project to various schools across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend. The project is aimed to benefit young people aged 12 – 16 who have been identified by schools as at risk of becoming or who are not in employment or education. Each person will participate in a 2-year programme that will use rugby as a tool to improve confidence, interpersonal skills, self-esteem, life skills and educational/employment opportunities.

Glamorgan Voluntary Services grant of £99,821
Paul Warren. Operational Manager for Glamorgan Voluntary Services (GVS) commented:

“Volunteering can make a real impact on those people with lived experience of mental ill health. I believe the Re-Build project offers supported volunteering support as a genuine opportunity to create something unique and of high quality to enhance the lives of people.”

The organisation will deliver a mental health volunteering project across the western part of the Vale of Glamorgan. With a focus on peer support and meaningful interaction the project will introduce people into volunteering and provide them with the support needed to succeed and improve their physical and mental health.

Cyngor Tref Amlwch Town grant of £100,000
Amlwch Town Council intend to transform play and wellbeing opportunities in both the Town Centre and the Port area. Initiated by local voluntary group Caru Amlwch the project will benefit children, young people, families, parents, visitors to the area and community groups engendering a sense of pride, wellbeing and social inclusion.

Cllr Gordon Warren, Chair Amlwch Town Council said

"I am delighted that this National Lottery grant application has been successful and wish to thank everyone who has been involved with the project from the onset. The Town Council is committed to working in partnership with Caru Amlwch to improve play facilities in the town and this Lottery grant will make it possible to transform our parks.”

The project will provide play equipment on two sites in Amlwch, Anglesey. Town Park, Lon Goch will have equipment suitable for ages 8-18 and Port Park will have equipment for children up to 8 years.

Chooselife Cymru grant of £99,001
Alan Andrews, managing Director, Chooselife UK greeted the grant saying “We are thankful to receive this National Lottery funding which will enable us to continue supporting vulnerable people in the Llanelli area, not only with their on-going issues but more directly with the impact that Universal Credit is having on them and by providing computers and hands on support to make any applications or alterations necessary, as simple as possible. We work with people in a friendly, non-judgemental manner which breaks down any barriers or fears people have when accessing different services. Having this award will enable us to help break down even more barriers and ensure that people with problems in the area are offered a lifeline with the new support available.”

The project will support those suffering from substance misuse, ex-offenders, the homeless and those experiencing adverse childhood experiences to access Universal Credit, addressing barriers such as a lack of basic understanding, literacy and numeracy skills, communication and IT. Service users will benefit from advice, support and information to increase confidence and skills, leading to reduced feelings of isolation, poverty and homelessness and an improvement in their health and psychological wellbeing.

11252 CIC
The project will provide disadvantaged and vulnerable young people aged 11-25 years old in Flintshire and Wrexham with a weekly programme of engagement activities that will enable them to develop their skills to help raise self-confidence, improve aspirations, increase social skills and offer an opportunity to use their life experiences to help others via mentoring.