WIREDGOV

Three community groups in Northern Ireland have each won up to £50,000 of National Lottery funding to make an extraordinary difference to their local communities.

Longstone Special School PSA in Dundonald, uHub Therapy Centre based in North Down and Superstars Club in Cookstown won the most public votes in The People’s Projects, which saw five community groups compete for a slice of £150,000.

For 13 years, the Big Lottery Fund, UTV and The National Lottery have teamed up to give the public across the UK a chance to decide where National Lottery money should go in their local area. The projects shortlisted in Northern Ireland were also featured in The Daily Mirror NI and Belfast Live.

The three community groups that received the most public votes in Northern Ireland are:

Get Up and Go Green by Longstone Special School PSA in Dundonald, which received £41,380 to create a community garden on the school grounds to raise awareness of the environment and wildlife and run workshops. It will be open to pupils, residents and other local schools, youth groups, care homes and community groups.

Stephanie Plunkett, KS4 co-ordinator at Longstone Special School said: “I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for us, this is going to make a huge difference to our school community and the local area. Its fantastic news and the pupils are over the moon.”

Huddle Project by uHub Therapy Centre, in North Down, which was awarded £50,000. The group delivers a programme in North Down to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This includes a Huddle Club – an after school drop-in for children with ASD and their siblings. The new funding will allow them to expand their support across North Down and Ards.

Cara Swanston, operations and finance director from uHub Therapy Centre said: “The support from the community was unbelievable – from our families, people on the street, local businesses, we couldn’t do it without their help. We’re really looking forward to rolling out the project and helping more families in the community.”

Multi Sport for Multi Abilities by Superstars Club, in Cookstown, has also received £50,000. The club supports young people and adults who have learning difficulties and physical disabilities. The new project will run a year-long programme of physical activities in the Mid Ulster Sports Arena, to improve health and self-confidence, culminating in a final celebration event.

May McAvoy, chairperson of Superstars Club said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have won. It’ll make such a difference to the lives of people with learning disabilities - they have special needs but great abilities and we want to maximise their talent. I want to thank everyone who helped with the campaign including friends, family, volunteers and businesses, and thank you to everyone who voted for us.”

The two runners up — Pawzitive’s Book Buddies project in Co Down and Fermanagh Rural Community Initiative’s Erne Craftie Women project — will each be offered £5,000 by Big Lottery Fund for smaller projects.

Julie Harrison, Big Lottery Fund Northern Ireland Chair, said: “The People’s Projects highlights the incredible things people and communities are doing across Northern Ireland. From rural villages to towns and cities, local people are working together to help each other lead happier and healthier lives. We’re really excited to see this year’s winners using National Lottery funding to take their projects further, bringing more people together to make a life changing difference in their local area.” 

Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk 
Twitter: @bignionline #peoplesprojects #NationalLottery 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundNI 

For funding and general enquiries call in Northern Ireland: 
02890 551 455 

For press enquiries call Lucy Gollogly or Rachel Skinner on: 
02890 551 432 or 02890 551 450 
Out of hours media contact: 07580 811 135

About the Big Lottery Fund and The People’s Projects

• National Lottery players have raised more than £37 billion for good causes across in the UK in the form of 525,000 grants since 1994. 
• Each week, The National Lottery generates, on average, £30 million for National Lottery-funded projects – in total £37 billion has now been raised and more than 525,000 individual grants have been made across the UK, the biggest programme of civic and social regeneration since the 19th Century. The National Lottery has so far given away over £65 billion in prizes and created more than 4,750 millionaires or multi-millionaires since its launch in 1994. 
• For further information on The National Lottery and its games, please visit: www.national-lottery.co.uk 
•  Players of all National Lottery games must be aged 16 or over. 
• The People’s Projects is a partnership between Big Lottery Fund, ITV, STV and the National Lottery which gives the public the chance to have a say in how National Lottery funding is spent in their community. 
• The initiative funds projects that improve the lives of people and communities across the UK. 
• This year 57 awards of up to £50,000 are up for grabs across the UK – three awards in each ITV region. 
• For more information on shortlisted groups and voting visit www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk. 
• Big Lottery Fund uses money raised by National Lottery players to help communities achieve their ambitions. From small, local projects to UK-wide initiatives, our funding brings people together to make a difference to their health, wellbeing and environment. Since June 2004 we have awarded £8.5 billion to projects that improve the lives of millions of people.