- Area:
- Wales
- Programme:
- Awards for All Wales
- Release date:
- 24 7 2012
A project to offer more guidance and support for people experiencing problems with bullying and a project to enable a Cave Rescue Team to purchase a new 4x4 ambulance are among the range of vital projects to benefit from over £320,000 awarded from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme today.
A total of 85 community-based projects across Wales share in the £321,933 awarded under the latest round of the Awards for All small grants programme (full list of awards at the end of the release).
With an apparent increase in cyber bullying on social media sites such as twitter and Facebook, the BulliesOut organisation in Cardiff will spend £4,964 on providing targeted and specific training for new and existing volunteers to enable them to offer guidance and support to people experiencing problems with bullying. According to BulliesOut, children in this vulnerable group are three times more likely to consider suicide, and the support they offer is a lifeline for many.
Highlighting the importance of the funding, Emma Anne Thomas, the Trustee and Secretary for the BulliesOut organisation, said: “The funding is crucial and will enable us to train more than 40 volunteers to support even more victims of bullying.”
“It’s amazing what you can achieve with a small amount of money. Without it, we would have to dedicate our time to fundraising ourselves instead of helping people. We do deal with a number of young people who have contemplated or are contemplating suicide and it’s important our volunteer mentors have the appropriate training to intervene. One of our mentors recently had to intervene in one of those circumstances and you just can’t put a price on helping someone in a situation like that.”
She added: “Social media is also being used in a detrimental way by bullies and we’ve seen an increase in online bullying lately. Bullying is an issue that I feel strongly and am passionate about having experienced bullying myself as a child. I strongly believe that bullying is a widespread issue and that BulliesOut can and does make a difference to the lives of those affected by bullying on a daily basis.”
In a project costing over £35,000, the South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team will use their award of £5,000 to purchase a new fully equipped Landrover Ambulance to allow them to provide vital emergency cave rescue services to cavers, the public and animals. The project was called out a dozen times last year and took part in the operation to try and help rescue the miners who sadly died last year in the Gleisison Colliery mining disaster.
Outlining the importance of funding the project, Gary Evans of South and Mid Wales Cave Rescue Team, said: “Our ability to do the job effectively is reliant on our team members and the equipment that we use. Because we cover such a large area of South and mid-Wales, the Landrover Ambulance is one of our key pieces of equipment for getting team members and the necessary materials to a rescue incident and location. A fully equipped rescue vehicle is essential for reaching remote sites and for conveying casualties to safety.”
As a result of the increasing problem of young people riding off road motorcycles illegally in the local community of Treharris in Merthyr Tydfil, the Black Desert Training organisation will use their award of £5,000 to run the Treharris Youth Motorcycle Project. Riding off-road motorcycles illegally is a cause of concern for the local community and is one of the priorities they wish to address. The group ran a similar scheme last year and discovered that many young people didn't know the true impacts that riding illegally could have.
The money from BIG will allow the group to run a summer holiday scheme for young people in Treharris and the surrounding area. The group will run 10 workshop sessions and 10 off road riding sessions aimed at young people aged 13-19 years old as they are the most 'at risk' of offending and causing anti-social behaviour.
“This scheme will teach young people the impact of riding illegally and how potentially they could get a criminal record,” says Tamsin Jones, the Director of Black Desert Training.
“It will also teach them how it impacts the local community, land owners and environment and also how riding without the correct safety clothing could put them at risk of being hurt. This scheme will also include training on how to ride the bikes safely and properly. The scheme the group ran last year was very successful as the police reported a drop in reports of illegal riding in the area.”
Other projects funded highlight the range of projects which can be funded under the Awards for All programme. In North Wales the Chat Away Coffee Club in Denbighshire will spend their award of £5,000 on arranging family trips for members who have children with Autism, ADHD and behavioural problems. And in Newport, South Wales, the Life Music Foundation Limited organisation will spend £4,945 on a community based guitar repair service to benefit the unemployed and low income instrument owners not in education, employment or training.
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.
Download the full list of awards
- 28KB
Further Information:
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 02920 678 207
Out of Hours Contact: 07760 171 431
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
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 £28 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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