- Area:
- Scotland
- Programme:
- Supporting 21st Century Life
- Release date:
- 7 4 2009
More practical and emotional support is to be made available for families in West Lothian as the Big Lottery Fund today announces funding to expand the Home Start West Lothian volunteering programme.
Thanks to a grant of £56,259 the group will increase its team of volunteers who will provide help, friendship, advice or support to families across the area. Many of these volunteers will be parents who will be able to offer informal and confidential support to families who may be experiencing difficult times in their lives.
The project is amongst 13 groups today sharing in £2,799,958 from BIG’s Supporting 21st Century Life programme which aims to improve and nurture relationships between people, families and communities.
Aileen McIntosh has gone through the Home Start volunteering programme and has been with Home Start West Lothian for 3 years. She has gone on to complete an HNC in Social Care at West Lothian College before securing a job as a Social Care Worker and has been recently matched with a local family needing support. She said: “I wouldn’t have got a college place without the voluntary experience I gained.”
Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Alison Magee, said: “Volunteering is a wonderful way for people to make a real difference to the lives of people around them whilst developing their own skills. That’s why I am delighted that Home Start West Lothian can now expand its volunteering programme thanks to this funding. Many of these people will be parents themselves and will therefore have a great deal of experience which will allow them to support other families who may just need that bit of extra support to help them lead full active lives.”
Kathryn Howieson, Senior Co-ordinator, Home Start West Lothian, said:” We are delighted to have obtained funding from the Big Lottery Fund which will enable the scheme to further develop the Volunteer Preparation Course and offer our volunteers the chance to explore further education, employment or further volunteering opportunities. We are confident that our enhanced training will help people like Aileen to change their lives, build on existing experiences and develop new skills. This money will provide an enhanced befriending relationship for families in need of support and a strong foundation for volunteers to take their learning further.”
The Citadel Youth Centre in Edinburgh, which has provided community base youth work for children and young people for almost 30 years, is also receiving funding today. The centre offers youth clubs, group work and individual support designed to meet the needs of the young people in the area and to make their experience of growing up in Leith a good one. As well as research suggesting young people had little contact with older people the in house work also identified that young people had little opportunity to try new hobbies either due to lack of confidence or financial constraint. The older people who were consulted expressed a wish to feel part of the community with more connections with younger age groups.
Over the next three years the award of £151,681 will be used to bring 700 people together with the aim of enabling young and old to take up new hobbies and learn from mutual experience. The project came about after research suggested young people in the area had little or no contact with older people in their community.
Willy Barr, Manager, Citadel Youth Centre, said: “Leith is an area currently experiencing massive change and regeneration. It is now more important than ever that we find new, innovative ways to build and strengthen local community connections and intergenerational work is a key aspect of this. The thought of older people playing on a Wii or Playstation brings a smile to my face as much as the image of our young people playing carpet bowls or dominoes. This is a great boost for everyone in Leith – old and young.”
Further Information
For more information contact Landa Rolland at the Big Lottery Fund Scotland Press Office on:0141 242 1458 or 07880 737 157
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- 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.
SCOTLAND
The Scotland Committee, led by Chair, Alison Magee, has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007. As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee has and will continue to play a strategic role in the future direction of BIG in Scotland.
The Big Lottery Fund is investing in Scotland’s communities through it’s Investing in Communities portfolio as well as the small grants schemes Awards for All and 2014 Communities.
*Investing in Communities is the Big Lottery Fund Scotland’s funding portfolio which consists of four investment areas:
Growing Community Assets, to help communities obtain, improve, develop, manage, sustain and protect assets that will help them become stronger and more sustainable.
Life Transitions to support people at times of change in their lives – at different life stages and in different circumstances.
Supporting 21st Century Life to provide support to people and communities to deal with the pace of change, enjoy positive relationships, improve quality of life, and establish connections across 21st century society.
Dynamic and Inclusive Communities (DINC) to fund improvements to the capacity and infrastructure of national, intermediary or second tier organisations, to allow communities to engage in civic society and influence civic processes so that they can build strong and more inclusive local communities.
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