‘We’ve had to learn to be resourceful, whilst helping our community to do the same’: The Cornish charities bringing people together, thanks to £13.5 million of National Lottery funding

New figures released today reveal that over £13.5 million has gone to community groups across Cornwall this year*, thanks to National Lottery players. Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19 this year, vital National Lottery funding has enabled inspiring local good causes to carry on their amazing work and bring glimmers of hope to their communities.

The money, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, has helped communities to overcome some of this year’s obstacles to deliver crucial support and bring a sense of togetherness to people while they have had to remain apart.

Lizzie Sullivan is the founder of Whole Again Communities, a community hub on the Treneere Estate in Penzance, that helps people learn to cook good quality, affordable food from scratch alongside a community garden and a weekly Repair Cafe. The aim is to encourage people to reach their potential, improve their lives and develop a sense of community.

Before the pandemic hit, it was a thriving organisation but when the country went into lockdown, the group had to quickly adapt with the help of a National Lottery funding boost of over £13,000.

Lizzie Sullivan, Founder of Whole Again Communities, said: “Pre-COVID-19 all our work was done in our tiny porta-cabins. We were very aware that there were vulnerable families using our service and volunteering, so we had to adapt. We had to say bye to 100% of our volunteers, many of whom were vulnerable. The National Lottery Community Fund were fantastic and reacted really quickly to our request for funding. It will allow us to be able to go forward with much more stability.”

By the end of March, Whole Again Communities was already sending out boxes of ingredients to vulnerable families and holding cooking workshops online. They also provided bags of compost and seeds which proved very popular.

“Back in April we were giving people courgette seeds and come September, our families were coming to the hub and leaving bags of courgettes or pepper for us to use in our hot pots” said Lizzie.

Whole Again Communities is just one of many charities and organisations throughout Cornwall, harnessing the power of community to make it through the struggles of 2020. Another is The Solomon Browne Memorial Hall in Mousehole, which lost 50% of its income, when the pandemic meant that it was no longer able to be hired out for community events.

With the help of £14,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund, it quickly became a hub for Mousehole’s emergency COVID-19 response. The first action the group took was to split the village into 12 areas, identifying who was vulnerable and needed support, and who might be able to volunteer to keep up with demand. Within weeks they had over 30 people from around the village lending a hand.

Tamsin Harvey, Manager of the Solomon Browne Memorial Hall, said: “My colleague used to deliver post in Mousehole and knew everyone, so we were able to be really targeted in our approach. There was a poor lady in the village who had just been diagnosed with dementia the week before the first lockdown, but it had yet to be confirmed so she wasn’t eligible for any support. She had no family and didn’t know too many people, so she fell through the cracks.

“It was little things like that that we didn’t expect to come across - gaps in the system that weren’t prepared for something like this. Some people didn’t have close family and friends so we felt it was our role to bridge that gap.”

Aware that many of the village’s residents were living alone and feeling isolated, staff at the hall came up with the idea of ‘Smile Bags’. Each bag contained a painting or drawing from the pupils at the local primary school, puzzle books and a booklet about the history of Mousehole.

“We had such lovely feedback on the bags, lots of cards and phone calls letting us know how much it meant. So we’ve decided to do the same thing this Christmas” said Tamsin. “That is why we were so grateful to have the National Lottery funding so we could keep going. At the beginning we thought we were going to have to furlough ourselves or we’d go bankrupt. So we were so grateful to get that extra support.”

Cornwall isn’t alone in benefiting from vital National Lottery funding. Today it was announced that over £650 million has been distributed to more than 13,000 community organisations across the UK throughout 2020*.

Whether small grants to local projects or long-term investments into systemic change, National Lottery funding has made it possible for groups to find innovative ways of keeping their communities connected and to reach those who need the most help.

Rowan Miller, Head of Funding for the South West of England at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “I am incredibly proud that we have distributed over £13.5 million across Cornwall in what has been an extremely difficult year, helping communities to take action when it has been needed most.

“It goes to show that our communities are more important than ever and we’re delighted that so many groups, such as Whole Again Communities and the Solomon Browne Memorial Hall, and volunteers and community workers received funding to provide vital support. We should all feel inspired and reassured by the strength we have seen in communities throughout this turbulent year.”

Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for the UK’s good causes, and £41 billion has been distributed to 565,000 good causes across the UK since 1994.

Last year, we awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK. Over eight in ten (83%) of our grants are for under £10,000 - going to grassroots groups and charities across the UK that are doing great things to support their communities through these challenging times.

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