WIREDGOV

An England-wide scheme to provide specialised storytelling sessions for children with profound learning difficulties is amongst 27 projects receiving funding today from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities programme.

Today’s announcement sees over £5.5 million awarded to voluntary and community organisations working with some of the most vulnerable and socially excluded people across England.

Sanjay Dighe, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund’s England Committee, said: “Today’s announcement sees £5.5 million going right to the heart of communities, providing support such as volunteering opportunities, assistance for disabled people, advice for carers and new skills training. The 27 projects funded in this latest round of awards are vital in improving life choices, increasing health and well-being, and building stronger and safer communities.”

Bag Books has been awarded £170,561 for its Telling Tales Project. The project aims to train librarians across England in multi-sensory storytelling to give them the skills and confidence to provide storytelling sessions using handmade packs of items to illustrate each part of the story through tactile objects, visual stimulation, smells and actions.

The project promotes multi-sensory storytelling as a way to access learning and communication, even though many will never have language. Previously a Bag Books employee or freelance storyteller would have to travel to libraries to provide the sessions but by training librarians it opens up the activities to even more people and increases the number of special school pupils accessing their local libraries.

Dean Casswell, Chief Executive, Bag Books, said: "We are really thrilled with our grant. We are the only organisation in the world publishing multi-sensory stories for people with profound learning disabilities. Over two years the grant will enable us to involve 2,000 children with severe learning disabilities in multi-sensory storytelling sessions. We'll be visiting 130 libraries throughout England and mentoring librarians to enable them to continue the storytelling when the project finishes. It will bring the children into the wider community whilst giving them the opportunity to increase their communication and motor skills."

Other Reaching Communities grants announced today include £212,329 awarded to Cowpen Quay Community Association over five years to provide more activities and services for the residents of Croft and Cowpen Quay in Blyth Valley, one of the most deprived communities in Northumberland.

The project based at the vibrant hub of Buffalo Community Centre right in the heart of Blyth will help stimulate the area’s economy by promoting lifelong learning and building stronger community structures. Working with young offenders, young people, the elderly, unemployed and disabled people, the project will support a youth project, junior wardens scheme, parent/toddler group, IT drop in, over 50s’ art group and salsacise,

Brenda Robinson, Secretary, Cowpen Quay Community Association, said: “We are delighted to have received this award which will enable us to continue developing and managing, with the support of our Centre Manager, diverse opportunities for our community, based on high quality, sustainable growth supported by our valued volunteers and management committee.“

In the South West, The Exeter and Localities Grief Support For Children, Young People and their Families’ Balloons Service project will use a £247,569 grant to build on its pilot to provide support for children, young people and their families following the death, or before an expected death, of a parent, significant carer or sibling.  

Julia Hammond, Chair, Exeter and Localities Grief Support For Children, Young People and Their Families, said:” This grant will have a huge impact on our organisation.  We will be able to fill two full-time posts, a family worker and a coordinator, to work directly with the children and to run the organisation.

“The children will benefit from one-to-one work and from attending bereavement and memory weekends. Our training programme will be further developed for our own volunteers and also for external professionals, so that more bereaved young people will have access to better trained professionals. The overall impact will be to have a positive effect on bereaved children’s life chances.”

Further Information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
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

• Under Reaching Communities, the Big Lottery Fund awards grants between £10,000 and £500,000 to projects that offer people better life chances, build stronger communities, develop improved rural and urban environments and improve health and well being.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally 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 £23 billion has now been raised and more than 317,00 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.