Lottery cash reaches out to bridge the age divide

Area:

England

Programme:

Reaching Communities

Release date:

30 1 2007

Today, 39 grants worth a total of £10,215,908 from the Reaching Communities programme will be distributed amongst hard working community groups from all over England.

The Lottery award from BIG’s Reaching Communities programme will go to the Beth Johnson Foundation’s Centre for Intergenerational Practice in Stoke-on-Trent, which helps to bridge the gap between generations. The centre creates more cohesive communities by providing regional networks, websites, advice, training and reports as well as evaluation and development work, which can affect national policy.

Alan Hatton-Yeo, Director of the Beth Johnson Foundation, said: “Without Lottery support we might have had to close down the Intergenerational Centre. This Reaching Communities grant will make all the difference in allowing this organisation to function properly and to provide the resources necessary to allow us to put our plans and initiatives into action.

“The aim of intergenerational work is to bring people from different generations together in purposeful, mutually beneficial activities that, through mentoring and volunteering, can promote greater understanding and respect and contribute to building a more cohesive community.

“As a result of changes in society, different generations have become increasingly distanced from each other in recent years, and they can often regard one another with suspicion and mistrust. Yet people from both generations, as volunteers and citizens, have so much to offer each other and their communities, and intergenerational work creates the opportunities to enable this to happen.”

The Active Ageing Programme in South Liverpool is a prime example of the kind of projects that the Beth Johnson Foundation will be able to carry on supporting with the injection of Lottery cash. Starting out as a programme to prevent older people becoming isolated and combating the fear of anti-social behaviour from young people, this project soon evolved into what has now become a benchmark in intergenerational work.

Diane Brennan, Project Leader of the Active Ageing Programme, said: “It is excellent news to hear that the Beth Johnson Foundation is now receiving Lottery support. When I began our intergenerational project sometime ago, the Beth Johnson foundation helped me by offering essential guidance and support.

“Our Intergenerational Active Ageing Programme has been running successfully, with the help of three schools, to the delight of older people who are now beginning to feel valued members of the community again. The programme encourages people from the generations, young and old, to engage in discussions related to health, healthy foods and services, and helps to identify older people with skills who wish to pass these on to the young.

“This project has been a great opportunity in which to generate a better understanding of older people and the issues they face, and for younger people to see them in a more positive light. This really has contributed in bridging the generation gap. Now we have 300 people attend our activities and run three programmes and we would like to extend the project further into the rest of Liverpool.”

Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, Sir Clive Booth said: “This grant recognises the huge contribution the Beth Johnson Foundation undertakes to build positive relationships between young and older people to allow for stronger, more healthier community ties. This Lottery funding will help the foundation maintain its innovative approach to high quality intergenerational support.”

Under Reaching Communities, the Big Lottery Fund will give out grants of up to £500,000 over five years for projects that offer people better chances in life, build strong communities, develop improved rural and urban environments and create healthier and more active people and communities.

Further information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone:  08456 021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• Reaching Communities is part of the Big Lottery Fund’s portfolio of new programmes. Following an intense and comprehensive process of consultation with stakeholders and the general public over the last year, the Fund has undertaken to distribute 60-70% of its funding to the third sector.  At least one-third of BIG funding will be demand-led and lightly prescribed.  In England, this will amount to at least £600 million over the period 2005-2009. This commitment will be met from a variety of funding streams, including, Reaching Communities, Awards for All, part of the Young People’s Fund, Community Buildings, Advice Services and the People’s Millions.
• The Big Lottery Fund rolls out close to £2 million in lottery good cause money every 24 hours which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
• The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.
• On 1 December 2006 the Big Lottery Fund was officially established by Parliament and at the same time assumed the residual responsibilities of the dissolved National Lottery Charities Board (Community Fund) the New Opportunities Fund, and the Millennium Commission. The Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money.

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