- Area:
- South West England
- Programme:
- Reaching Communities
- Release date:
- 11 9 2012
A project working in Cornwall and North Devon which uses surfing as a therapeutic activity for young people with mental health and emotional issues has been given over £177,000 from the Big Lottery Fund today.
The grant to The Wave Project CIC is one of six being given to projects in the South West region today. The groups will share a total of £1,284,903 from BIG’s Reaching Communities programme which aims to help people most in need and build stronger communities.
The Wave Project CIC, based in Truro, was formed in 2010 to support children suffering from emotional trauma and mental health issues by using surfing to improve confidence, help them make friends and develop core life skills such as communication and team work. The group takes referrals from mental health services, charities and schools.
After an initial assessment clients undergo a six-week course run by professional surf instructors and supported by trained volunteers from the local community. Clients work in small groups of up to 10 and learn to surf, with support from the volunteers and overseen by the instructor. The course will help clients to improve their self-confidence, help make new friends and develop social skills, improve physical health and provide a sense of achievement.
After the course, they can continue surfing via the Wave Project Surf Club, a self-sustaining project run for and by young people.
Results of pilot work done by the group demonstrate that participants had shown signs of increased confidence and responded positively to being part of a group and making friends. Health professionals and parents also reported improvements to mental wellbeing.
Joe Taylor, Project Manager at the Wave Project CIC, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to get this funding and for a project like ours it is a game changing award. It’s going to help turn our small project into something more substantial that will have a big impact. There is a lot of interest in the therapeutic effects of surfing and this funding will really help to bring some credibility to the notion. It will make a big difference to a lot of people.”
Also near Truro, the Malpas Village Hall Project receives £211,016 to reinvigorate village life by building a new village hall. The project proposed to demolish the old village reading room and following consent from the Church of England will link with the existing St Andrews Church Hall to create a village social centre. The current facility is a leaking 120 year old hut, without a toilet or functional kitchen. Upon completiton, the project hopes to deliver activities for the community such as fitness, education, ICT, craft classes, book and cookery club. Senior citizens lunches along with coffee mornings are also planned to provide informal social interaction, as well as a children's holiday club.
Elsewhere in the region, a grant of £386,433 goes to Plymouth Play Association to develop and increase playwork activity across the North West, South West and South East of the city. This will be done by providing regular play sessions in the evening and also during the day during school holidays. Outreach workshops will be run for parents, carers and other volunteers to assist them in taking ownership of the play services. Although previously the project had operated across all three target areas, a lack of funding has meant the project only currently works in the North West. Today’s funding means the project can return to all three areas.
Meanwhile, Hele Village Community Association receives £245,865 to run a programme of learning activities for disadvantaged families over five years. Families will have the chance to gain skills and improve their confirdence, resulting in stronger family units. Volunteers will be recruited to support new families onto the project and provide mentoring support and organise community activities and events.
Also receiving grants is the Avon Wildlife Trust which will use £262,689 to engage more people in environmental projects to help improve their health and wellbeing, build social cohesion and improve the environment; and Swimbridge Village Hall which receives a development award of £1,800 to cover mechanical and electrical consultant fees ahead of the plans to develop their village hall.
Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund’s Head of the South West region, said: “This month we are proud to be investing over £1.2million from the Reaching Communities programme into good causes across the South West to bring about a range of benefits to some of the region’s most in need.”
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
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Notes to Editors
- 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 June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
- 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 £28 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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