People’s Millions opens in ITV Meridian for community Lottery cash

Area:

South East England

Programme:

The Peoples Millions

Release date:

18 3 2009

The People’s Millions TV contest launches nationwide today giving communities in ITV Meridian a fresh chance to win up to £50,000 in Lottery good cause cash to improve their locality.

Local groups are being invited to join the contest, which opens for entries from today. The People’s Millions partnership between the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) and ITV gives the voting public the opportunity to decide which local projects will receive lottery good cause funding. The popular contest is now entering its fifth successful year.

This year in ITV Meridian The People’s Millions is offering eight awards of up to £50,000 for projects that will enhance local facilities or help people to enjoy their local area – a total investment of £400,000. This is broken down into four awards totalling £200,000 in the East of the Meridian region and four awards totalling £200,000 in the West.

The contest is particularly looking for projects that enable local people to get more involved in their community and that are original and imaginative. Previous projects that have been funded include Longridge Boating Centre, which used a grant to build a huge outdoor climbing and adventure activity centre, and Folkestone Sports Centre, which spent their winnings on a toboggan slope and gym to encourage young people to be more active through fun exercise.

Later in the year short-listed projects will be showcased on ITV Meridian local news where they will have to convince the public why they deserve the cash. It will then be up to the public to use their vote to decide which groups win the funding.

The People’s Millions is part of BIG’s commitment to involving the public in deciding how Lottery money is spent. In the last four years, the competition has made 318 awards totalling £18 million to community projects across the UK through the contest.

Alison Rowe, BIG’s Head of the South East region, said: “The People’s Millions is a brilliant chance for local groups and organisations to get funding for a project that will really make a difference to their communities.

“People shouldn’t be daunted by the idea of taking part. Past experience shows that for many groups The People’s Millions is the first time they’ve applied for lottery funding. And often those that think they’ve got little chance of winning are the ones that are successful.

“The key is that the competition puts the public in charge of the Lottery purse strings and, as experts on their communities, lets them decide what local projects should be funded.”

ITV Meridian presenter Sangeeta Bhabra said: “The People’s Millions makes great telly every year on Meridian Tonight. You’ve got inspirational people who want to make a difference, screaming winners and cheques with lots of noughts on the end.

“I remember reporting on the launch in 2005 – it was on the set of Coronation Street and some of the big stars were talking about what they would do with the money in Wetherfield. I don’t know if Fred Elliot got the community garden he wanted, but looking around the region there are many great projects that have changed landscapes and improved local life.”

Entry packs for The People’s Millions are available from today by calling the hotline: 08450 10 11 12 or by visiting www.peoplesmillions.org.uk. The deadline for applications is 15 May 2009.

Further Information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of Hours contact: 07867 500 572
ITV Press Contact: James Macleod on 020 7156 7236

Full details of Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Photos available: Sangeeta Bhabra, ITV Meridian presenter, and Big Lottery Fund representatives at the Longridge Boating Centre and Folkestone Sports Centre

Notes to Editors

• 69 awards are up for grabs including one bonus award in each of the ITV regions. Number of awards per region are listed below.

Key People’s Millions dates for forward planning diaries:

15 May 2009: Closing date for applications
28 October 2009: Final project shortlist announced to the media
23-26 November 2009: People's Millions competition televised on ITV

• Since the launch of People’s Millions in 2005, the aim of the contest has been to fund projects that improve the quality of life of local communities through transforming the local environment.
• Telephone voting numbers – As with previous years, ITV and the Big Lottery Fund will use a low cost telephone number. ITV and Big do not make a profit from the voting telephone numbers.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half 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 June 2004. 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 £22 billion has now been raised and more than 300,500 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

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