- Area:
- South West England
- Programme:
- Awards for All England
- Release date:
- 27 3 2012
Projects in the South West that support carers are to receive some much-needed support from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).
A total of 50 groups across the region are sharing nearly £393,000 from BIG’s Awards for All programme, with several of the projects using their grants to teach carers new skills and help them to increase their self-esteem and reduce their isolation.
Bath and North East Somerset Carers Centre has received £7,720 to run their Healthy Lives for Families project. The scheme will provide healthy eating, household budgeting and yoga sessions at an organic farm for parents with a child who is disabled or has learning difficulties or a serious illness. Participants will be able to improve their mental and physical health and wellbeing and gain support from making new friends who are coping with the same challenges as them.
Sonia Hutchison, Chief Executive of Bath and North East Somerset Carers Centre said: “This project will make a big difference to families who are caring for a disabled child. They will learn to engage their whole family in a healthy lifestyle, whilst managing on a low budget. They will also gain peer support from other families and discover they can do more together as a family than they may have previously thought possible.”
Cornwall Rural Community Council also receives £10,000 to support young carers to share their emotions through a programme of fun, outdoor activities, including learning how to make wooden objects and cooking over a camp fire. The workshops will be deilivered by social enterprise Nature Workshops, and will enable participants to gain new life experiences, improve their self-esteem and confidence, make new friends and enjoy some time to themselves.
Jane Acton from Nature Workshops said: "We are thrilled to be given the opportuntiy to work with this group of young people, who often have to spend their spare time looking after their parents or other relatives when all their friends are out enjoying themselves."
Helping carers and social care staff to offer an improved level of service and care, Compass Disability Services in Taunton, Somerset has received just over £8,100 to run a series of training courses and meetings to highlight the various complex needs of disabled people. These sessions will enable carers and social care staff to provide care that is more tailored to the person they care for.
Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund’s Head of South West region, said: “Carers fulfill such a vital role in society so I am delighted the Big Lottery Fund is investing in three such important projects. The work they do will go a long way towards supporting carers to learn new skills, improve their self-esteem and confidence and understand they are not alone.”
BIG’s Awards for All programme offers grants of between £300 and £10,000 to social and environmental projects that will benefit local communities and make a difference to the lives of those most in need. Voluntary and community groups, schools, health organisations and parish and town councils can all apply. Visit www.awardsforall.org.uk or phone 0845 410 20 30 for more information.
See a full list of awards announced in the South West today
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