Big launches a new ‘Way of Life’ for Welsh families

Area:

Wales

Programme:

Healthy Families Way Of Life

Release date:

18 6 2007

Today, (Monday June 11) the Big Lottery Fund visits Llandudno, North Wales, to host the first in a series of briefing events that will be held across Wales to announce the arrival of its new Way of Life (WOL) initiative.

Childhood obesity has been one of the most worrying health trends in Wales over the last decade, with more children overweight than ever before. Following high profile campaigns by celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver, people now accept that young people and their families need to take action and get support. The Big Lottery Fund’s WOL is a new funding initiative which will try and combat childhood obesity.

The initiative is the last of the two strands to be launched under BIG’s new £20 million Healthy Families programme. WOL will spend £7 million on developing new ways of promoting healthy eating, activity and play among children under 12, through projects that involve the whole family.  The second, ‘Child’s Play’ strand, launched last year and now closed for applications, is spending the remaining £13 million on building the play parks and putting in equipment to support the development of children’s play in Wales, and creating new play initiatives.

BIG has also appointed Hall Aitken, consultancy specialists in communities, health and regeneration, to support applicants to its ‘Way of Life’ initiative. Following extensive consultations with health and nutrition experts, Hall Aitken have now developed key approaches and models that successful applicants will use to deliver the programme.  

Grants ranging between £250,000 and £500,000 will be available for applicants to deliver support to people in their target areas. Hall Aitken will also provide extensive support to those who want to apply for funding.

Successful applicants will be supported through a variety of media including workshops, one-to-one advice, regular project visits, cross-project action learning sets, web-based support and a helpline.  Funded projects will collect information and data on their activities.  Each of the delivery models will be assessed for effectiveness, sustainability and transferability.  Working together, Hall Aitken and BIG will identify good practice and spread learning across Wales and further afield.

Highlighting the importance of the initiative, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee member and Chair of the Healthy Families Committee, Graham Benfield, said: “Way of Life will identify gaps in provision and develop new initiatives that will tackle the escalating problem of childhood obesity in Wales.

“Childhood obesity is a major worry facing both families and the government in Wales and our consultation has shown that negative influences on childhood lifestyle are best tackled through an approach that seeks to link physical activity and nutrition. Existing evidence also shows that projects that tackle these issues by involving the whole family are more successful and that’s why the Big Lottery Fund developed the Healthy Families programme.”

For further information on the Healthy Families – Way of Life programme, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the search facility.

For further information about interview, filming and photo opportunities, please contact Oswyn Hughes at the Big Lottery Fund press office in Wales on the numbers below.

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760171431
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone:  0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

• In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £1 million a week in 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.
• On 1 December 2006 the Big Lottery Fund was officially established by Parliament and at the same time assumed the residual responsibilities of the dissolved National Lottery Charities Board (Community Fund) the New Opportunities Fund, and the Millennium Commission. The Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money.

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