Lottery joy for vulnerable youngsters in Wales

Area:

Wales

Programme:

Young People's Fund Make it Happen

Release date:

15 8 2007

Nine projects developed by young people share in a total of £34,327 awarded through the Make It Happen strand of the Young People’s Fund. Make it Happen helps make positive changes to young people aged 10–19 years old in Wales.

The money will help provide activities for vulnerable and disabled youngsters and those living in rural areas. Some projects will focus on developing new skills, while others will provide new opportunities that many would otherwise be unable to enjoy.

Some of the money is being spent on putting a smile on the faces of vulnerable youngsters in Wales. Being homeless is one of the most frightening experiences that anyone could possibly have. A project enveloping Newport, Caerphilly and Torfaen, the Llamau Ltd organisation will spend £5,000 on a project that will enable a group of young people who are currently or at risk of becoming homeless to participate in social and leisure activities, including outdoor pursuits, dance, art and music workshops.

A grant of £2,861 will also allow Radnorshire Women’s Aid in Llandrindod Wells, Powys, to provide school holiday activities for young people who have been affected by domestic abuse. Activities will include visits to an outdoor activity centre, horseriding, climbing, the theatre and the seaside.

Projects that promote and encourage healthier and more active lifestyles are also a prominent feature of the awards. The Pen Y Bryn and Area Community Group in Conwy is one of two projects to share in a total of £6,238 awarded to North Wales. They will spend their award of £1,503 on a project to enable young people from the area to participate in action packed summer activities, including visits to outdoor activity centres, ice skating and an educational visit to a local power station.

Health is at heart for The Underwood Trust Ltd in Newport, South East Wales. The group will spend £4,850 on a project to encourage young people aged 11-15 to get physically active and build sociable relationships through fun activities.

Youngsters in three deprived wards of Swansea will soon don their dancing shoes as the Beribazu Cultural Group in the City plans to spend £4,478 on a project to provide 30 weeks of activities, including Capoeira, which is a Brazilian dance, game, and martial art. Dance, musical instrument and singing classes will run from September 2007 to June 2008. These will improve and increase multiculturalism, respect, health and fitness and self confidence to young people

Projects that promote the use of the Welsh language amongst youngsters also feature in the awards. A grant of £4,735 will allow Aelwyd Bangor in North Wales to provide a residential weekend of team building and outdoor activities for young people aged 14-15 through the medium of Welsh. Meanwhile, Menter Iaith Rhondda Cynon Taf in South Wales will spend £1,900 to provide a residential weekend for young people who are learning Welsh in lunchtime clubs at two schools in Pontypridd.

Youngsters with disabilities also reap the benefit of the funding. It’s literally curtains up for the Special Needs Activity Club in Port Talbot. They will spend their award of £4,700 on a project to enable a group of young people aged 11 and over with special needs to participate in a weekly drama club for one year, including appearing in two productions. The TOGs Centre in Torfaen will also spend £4,300 on a project that will provide  a  wide range of activities for young people with sensory, physical and educational needs.

Highlighting the importance of the Make it Happen programme, the Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee member and Chair of the Young People’s Fund Committee, Mike Theodoulou, said: “The projects will provide youngsters with an opportunity to learn valuable new lessons, be creative, develop new and exciting skills and express themselves in a safe environment. The message these grants send to other groups is clear: If you think that between £500 and £5,000 in cash can help your group develop a range of skills and take part in a variety of activities, then get your application in to BIG.”

For further information about the projects, and contact details for the groups and organisations involved, please contact the Big Lottery Fund Wales press office by email or on the numbers below.

For further information about the Young People’s Fund and how your group can apply for funding, log onto the Big Lottery Fund website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility. Alternatively, you can telephone the Big Lottery Fund office on 01686 611 700.

Further information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102 030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website at 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. 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 £20 billion has now been raised and more than 250,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

Tags