Awards for All as Scottish communities get set for summer

28 May 2014 04:32 PM

Summer fun is on the cards for groups across Scotland, thanks to the latest grants from the National Lottery’s small grants scheme Awards for All. 

Across Scotland,165 groups are sharing Lottery funding worth £959, 125.

A full list of awards is available here 

Awards for All gives out grants of between £500 and £10,000 to projects that bring communities together to enjoy a range of activities.

People living in East Lothian will be able to enjoy a three day festival celebrating the written word through song, poetry and prose, thanks to an award of £7,441 to Dunbar Festival of Words.  The festival will kick off on Friday 20 June with a day of workshops in local schools and community groups.  Other events taking place over the weekend include a book fair, musical performance by local musicians and a literacy pub quiz. Man Booker Prize nominee and award winning BAFTA Scotland short film maker, Bernard MacLaverty, is the Festival’s Patron and will be there in person to support the event.

Based in Allanton, North Lanarkshire, Adult Learners Forum will be able to run a programme of creative skills workshops for local people.  The award of £9,997 means the group can provide a range of activities including ceramics, textiles, jewellery making and creative writing and drama workshops.  Drama students will also have the opportunity to see a professional show to encourage their own performance skills. During school holidays they will run family crafting classes for children, their parents and grandparents. At the end of the project the group will organise an open day and exhibition for the local community to showcase their work. 

Govanhill Baths Community Trust will be able to organise a series of activities, including yoga and knitting, for local people after an award of £9,730.  The group will also be able to run a 12 week cookery group “Govanhill Grub” which will promote healthy eating and low cost meals. 

Diabetes UK West Lothian Voluntary Group will design an exercise programme specifically for people with diabetes, thanks to an award of £3,720. The fitness programme will then be delivered by a specially qualified trainer in a gym in Armadale Academy to encourage people with diabetes to try out a range of activities, from using weights to cardio, at a pace they feel comfortable with. 

Thanks to an award of £5,300, Music in Hospitals will be able to run a series of 50 concerts for people in care units throughout Aberdeen. During concerts, audiences are encouraged to join in, to request favourite songs, to dance and try out a range of instruments.

An Awards for All spokesperson, said: “Today’s funding will support a range of community groups across the length and breadth of Scotland. Bringing together people, young and old, they show that a relatively small amount of money can make the biggest difference. Whether it’s helping older people to feel less isolated or bringing people together through music or dance, these groups will reach out to communities improving lives and bringing fun and friendship to local people.”

Awards for All is the small grants scheme supported by three of the National Lottery good cause distributors in Scotland: Creative Scotland, the Big Lottery Fund and sportscotland. The scheme makes awards of between £500 and £10,000 to grass-roots community groups and voluntary organisations. 

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 0141 242 1451
Website:www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Twitter:@BIGScotland #biglf 
Facebook:www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundScotland

Notes to editors

• Awards for All is a joint awards programme set up to help small groups. It involves three Lottery distributors: the Big Lottery Fund, Creative Scotland and sportscotland.
• Awards for All makes grants to help people take part in arts, sport, social, environmental, health related, educational and other community activities.
• Awards for All will pause for applications at noon on 9 May and start to accept applications again at noon on 4 August 2014 
• The Heritage Lottery Fund left Awards for All on 31st March 2009. Details of its small grant schemes are available at www.hlf.org.ukGoes to different website.