£50 million from National Lottery players goes to communities this Carers Week

13 Jun 2017 06:35 PM

Local schemes supporting carers of all ages are amongst the 1,903 projects sharing in more than £50 million of National Lottery funding across England.

This coincides with Carers Week (12 – 18 June), an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlighting the challenges carers face and recognising the contribution they make to families and communities up and down the country.

The funding is being awarded by the Big Lottery Fund which distributes money raised by National Lottery players back into communities.

Projects awarded funding this week include Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre, which will use £478,843 to develop a new community hub to support carers in the local area.

Pauline Gregson, Centre Manager for Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre said:

“Whether it’s for a child born with a disability or someone diagnosed with a long term condition, caring has a life-changing effect on a person’s life, bringing with it many challenges. A carer’s situation can change overnight, impacting on their finances, work, social and emotional wellbeing. We pride ourselves in providing a wide range of bespoke services supporting and preparing carers of all ages, and their families, through these times and beyond.

“We are so grateful to the Big Lottery Fund for acknowledging the value of carers in Wigan. This award will give us the security to continue to provide and grow our services in partnership with carers across the borough.”

James Harcourt, England Grant Making Director at the Big Lottery Fund said:

“We are proud to be able to take part in Carers Week and celebrate projects that make a difference to carers and the people they support. It is great to think that National Lottery players have now raised £36 billion for Good Causes and it’s when you hear about projects like these that you realise the incredible impact that funding has had on communities across England. Whether the grant is for £500, or £500,000, our funding is used to run amazing projects led by local people. It really is life changing.”

Other projects sharing today’s funding include:

Camberley Alzheimer’s Café in Surrey which has received £10,000 to fund a programme of cookery courses for single, older men or men who are carers for their partners. The project will give them an opportunity to learn new skills that will help them cope on their own, as well as providing a support network and a chance to improve their health and wellbeing.

Young Carers Development Trust in Bath which has received £8302 to hold workshops for young carers in the area. The project will provide them with access to support with their studies and caring responsibilities, as well as proving opportunities to act as peer mentors.

Creativity for Change in Kirklees which has received £9,572 to work with young carers to create a film that will highlight the issues that young carers face on a day to day basis. The film will be shared with schools and youth groups and will aim to highlight wellbeing amongst young carers.

See the full list of projects receiving funding

Notes to Editors:

• The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK. We put people in the lead to improve their lives and communities, often through small, local projects.
• We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Last year we awarded £583 million and supported around 12,000 projects across the UK for health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
• Since June 2004 we have awarded over £8 billion to projects that change the lives of millions of people.
• Since 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £36 billion for Good Causes, with more than 500,000 individual awards made across the UK. In that same time, The National Lottery has awarded over £61 billion in life-changing prizes.