Middlesbrough multicultural centre awarded £100,000 National Lottery funding to help 100 families per week

A Middlesbrough-based multicultural centre is celebrating after receiving £100,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund to continue running its Drop-in Centre, supporting local Black and ethnic minority communities for the next three years.

The Ubuntu Multicultural Centre CIC is one of over 170 organisations in North East & Cumbria, doing vital work with communities, to receive a share of just over £9 million in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. *

Having received £10,000 in National Lottery funding back in May 2021, Ubuntu were able to establish their Multicultural Drop-In Centre, kick-starting with advice sessions, workshops and cultural activities based at the Centre three days a week, as well as delivering food parcels to vulnerable community members once a week during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With this new £100,000 grant, The Multicultural Drop-In Centre will now open five days a week to continue to support local Black and ethnic minority communities and provide a safe and trusted space where individuals can receive advice and support and celebrate cultural diversity.

The Centre will also continue to supply food parcels to up to 100 families per week. They work with Fareshare to offer food products via an Ecoshop, where £2 allows users to buy 10 nutritional items and essentials for their home. Alongside this, they run activities such as coffee mornings where organisations are invited to speak to the community, cultural food testing and learning to cook on a budget.

The additional funding will enable the organisation to increase delivery of these activities over more days to match rising demand. Since receiving a grant of £10,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund, Ubuntu Multicultural Centre service users has doubled, and with this new funding, they are ready to help even more diverse communities in Middlesbrough to thrive.

John Kabuye, Founder Director of Ubuntu Multicultural Centre, said: "We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way, and we are now able to continue to support our communities with their needs. The goal of the Multicultural Drop-in Centre is to give beneficiaries the confidence and know-how to navigate public and private services through information, support, guidance, and advocacy. Having the Ubuntu Multicultural Centre open for five days a week, seven hours a day will enable our service users to exercise their rights wherever they go in the future.

“The Centre will also offer communities culturally contextualised training and workshops, and food – via an Ecoshop, and will provide a space for local authority and community agencies to learn about different cultures and to create stronger relationships with diverse communities in Gresham and Middlesbrough at large."

Duncan Nicholson, Head of Regional Funding for North East & Cumbria 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 Middlesborough. Our funding plays a big role in helping communities to unleash their potential and it is great to see groups like the Ubuntu Multicultural Centre CIC making a positive difference and continuing to support their communities to thrive.”

North East & Cumbria isn’t alone in benefiting from National Lottery funding. Today it was announced that almost £133 million has been awarded to over 2,400 projects in England in the past three months.*

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes across the UK. In the last 12 months we have 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

Date published: 14 March, 2023
Region: England (North East)

Notes to Editors

* These figures are for funding awarded from 26 November 2022 – 24 February 2023

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 focused 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.

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