- Area:
- Cymru
- Programme:
- Pawb a'i Le
- Release date:
- 14 10 2008
A cyber café based in a Caerphilly Church Hall is rejoicing today, following the news that it is set to benefit from an award of over £110,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.
Neuadd Saint Cattwg Community Hall, based in Caerphilly, has been awarded with £111,751 under the Big Lottery Fund’s (BIG) People and Places programme, which aims to bring people together to make communities stronger and to improve rural and urban environments.
With the money from BIG, the hall will employ a new full time ICT Mentor/Manager to run the cyber café and will also network with outside organisations to develop new projects and continue to provide help and support to users.
The funding will enable the facility to offer advice and guidance, support clients in the use of computers, develop policies to encourage acceptable use of the computers, and work with partner organisations to assist with the delivery of training and monitoring as well as developing new services.
While the services will be open to the whole community, they will specifically target young people, older people and people facing barriers to learning who live in the Gelligaer and Penybryn areas of Caerphilly.
The hall will continue to provide IT facilities and informal training for young people and will re-launch a homework club. It will also provide services to benefit people who are out of work, and will offer informal learning opportunities for people who cannot travel distances, dislike formal learning environments, or who have never had the opportunity to use IT equipment.
Other services will include internet access and support, informal IT training, links to other local education provision and community based training initiatives, volunteering opportunities, mother and toddler group, keep fit and Tai Chi classes, coffee mornings and general social and recreational activities.
In a joint statement, the Management Team at Neuadd Saint Cattwg Community Hall, expressed their delight on receiving the award: “Some of the residents don’t want to go to college because the atmosphere is too formal and they ask for credits, which scares people off. There are also pockets of deprivation in this community and there are problems with the cost of getting to college and getting access to computers. This project will revitalise the community by providing volunteering opportunities and skills training, which will lead to opportunities for gaining qualifications and employment. “
He added: “Community relations will also be improved by reducing anti social behaviour and helping young people gain a better sense of community and citizenship. This facility will also be enhanced by providing more services and opportunities for local people to meet up and become involved.”
Highlighting the importance of the People and Places programme, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member and Chair of the People and Places Committee, Janet Reed, said: “Programmes like People and Places are making a difference to the lives of so many people in communities across Wales. It delivers on our promise to use Lottery funding to regenerate and revitalise communities, tackle disadvantage head on and leave a lasting legacy. I’m sure this project will have a positive impact on the lives of many people in the community and will continue to do so for years to come."
The £66 million People and Places programme awards grants of between £5,001 and £1 million for a broad range of community projects. For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility.
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 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 (BIG), 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 £22 billion has now been raised and more than 300,500 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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