- Area:
- East of England
- Programme:
- Awards for All England
- Release date:
- 9 4 2013
An Essex charity that trains local people and their dogs to search for missing people is amongst the latest Eastern region projects celebrating a funding boost from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme.
Search Dogs Essex will use a £5,500 grant to buy first aid kits, radios and hi-vis jackets for new members and volunteers to use during searches for missing people across Essex and North East London.
Karin Jung, Chair of the group, had been looking for a project to get her teeth into after training disaster dogs in her native Germany. She said: “We work closely with the local police to help out when people go missing and currently have 25 volunteers but we’re hoping to get a lot more involved.”
The work may be serious but there are often lighter moments to keep the volunteers amused. “Sometimes the dogs can find people who don’t necessarily want to be found. Courting couples shall we say” Karin laughs.
The funding award is just one of 47 projects across the Eastern region sharing a total of £330,313 of Awards for All money.
As the freezing weather continues its grip on the region, Wintercomfort for the Homeless in Cambridge are bringing a warm glow to local vulnerable people thanks to a £9,610 award that will be used to provide literacy and skills workshops.
Headway Ipswich and East Suffolk will buy new computer equipment with their £5,000 grant so the organisation can deliver IT training to people who are recovering from brain injuries or neurological condition.
Jonathan Clarke, Big Lottery Fund Eastern region spokesman, said: “There are some fantastic projects working in the Eastern region and today’s awards are great examples. I’m delighted that the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme can provide these charities and community groups with easily accessible funding that makes a huge difference to the lives of so many people.”
Organisations throughout England with an income of £30,000 or less have the opportunity to apply for repeat and ongoing activities under Awards For All until further notice. Through this, BIG aims to respond to the many pressures small organisations face with cuts to funding and rising costs. For more information, visit www.awardsforall.org.uk.’
A full list of today's awards
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BigLotteryFund #BIGlf
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFund
Notes to Editors
• Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme aims to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need. You can apply to Awards for All only if you are a community group, not for profit group, Parish or Town Council, health body, or school.
• Grants ranging from £300 to £10,000 are available to fund a specific project or activity.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
• The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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