Welsh communities have a spring in their step despite the cold snap thanks to BIG

Area:

Wales

Programme:

Awards for All Wales

Release date:

2 4 2013

Whether it’s a project to provide horsemanship courses to help develop the skills and character of disadvantaged young people in Bridgend or the establishment of a community cinema club in a rural Pembrokeshire, a range of groups throughout Wales are sharing in nearly £330,000 awarded from the Big Lottery Fund’s (BIG) Awards for All programme today.  

A total of 83 community-based projects across Wales share in the £328,774 awarded under the latest round of the Awards for All small grants programme (full list of awards at the end of the release. Please contact Ben Payne to obtain full project descriptions).

Thanks to their award of £4,960, Liberty Horses CIC in Bridgend will provide horsemanship courses to disadvantaged young people, enabling them to develop their skills and character. The group will use natural horsemanship approaches to foster the development of skills which can be transferred into their daily lives. The courses will teach; horse care, horse handling and riding, alongside leadership skills, communication, teamwork and problem solving, as well as an overall well-being that is achieved through outdoor education. Those taking part will participate in community service projects for two hours of the full-day’s training course. These projects will include activities such as gardening for elderly residents in the local community.

The SHADE (Self Help Against Depression) group in Risca is one of three projects to share in more than £4,300 awarded to projects in Caerphilly County Borough. With their award of £530, SHADE will run the Alternative Therapies Instead of Medication project by recruiting more members and helping more people to cope with their depression. As well as boosting their publicity to attract more members, the project will provide alternative therapies including reflexology and massage which helps with relaxation and induces a feeling of calm which helps members cope with their anxieties.  

Young people in North Wales will also be able to improve their skills and confidence thanks to the latest awards. A grant of £5,000 will enable Ysgol Llandrillo Yn Rhos Day Care in Rhos on Sea, Conwy, to develop an outdoor play area for children attending their day care, giving them an opportunity to explore the outdoors through creative play.

In one of five projects to share in nearly £17,000 awarded in Flintshire, the Saltney Small Steps Playgroup and Playgroup Plus will purchase indoor and outdoor play equipment and furniture with the £5,000 they were awarded, allowing them to increase their opening hours and expand the number of children attending their group. The money will fund toys, games, Wii, Xbox, televisions, a DVD player, storage units, water heater, craft materials and furniture. And working throughout Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham, Save The Family Limited in Northop Hall will run the Young People - Give Back project with the £5,000 they have been awarded. The project will focus on enabling young people who are disadvantaged, disengaged or affected by homelessness to become active and engaged in their community.

And it’s lights, camera, action for a community in Pembrokeshire thanks to the £3,965 awarded to the South Ridgeway Community Association. The group will spend the money on establishing a community cinema facility for Manorbier and surrounding villages. They will purchase projection equipment which will allow them to show films at their community centre. They will organise regular film nights open to the whole community, including the villages of Lydstep, Jameston, Newtown and other outlying areas, and will provide transport for the elderly and disabled residents. They will also hold a Saturday morning cinema club for children and will hold special screenings for residents of the two homes for adults with learning disabilities in the area.  

Gareth Williams, Awards for All Programme Manager for BIG in Wales, said: “Awards for All is having a positive impact throughout Wales. Money is helping to establish groups, societies and clubs, promoting learning, increasing volunteering opportunities and helping to build stronger communities.”      

Available in English and Welsh, application forms are available to download from www.awardsforall.org.uk or by phone on 0845 4 10 20 30.

Full list of awards

Further Information:
Ben Payne - Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 02920 678 224
Out of Hours Contact: 07500 951 707
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
Follow BIG on Twitter: www.twitter.com/biglotterywales
Find BIG on facebook: www.facebook.com/biglotteryfundwales 

Notes to Editors
• In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £100,000 a day in National Lottery good cause money, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across Wales 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. It was 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 £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

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