National Lottery funding boost for Dundee youth groups

6 Sep 2018 01:10 PM

Young people in Dundee are amongst thousands of young Scots today (THURS 6 SEPT) sharing in a £474,900 National Lottery cash boost, in celebration of Scotland’s Year of Young People.

Two groups in the city will use the cash from the Year of Young People National Lottery Fund to allow young people aged eight to 26 years old to shape and take part in a range of activities that will improve their health and wellbeing.

The funding has been made possible, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, in a joint scheme from Scotland’s National Lottery distributors - Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, sportscotland and Spirit of 2012, a UK trust endowed with cash from the Big Lottery Fund.

Feeling Strong, a Dundee based charity promoting positive mental health amongst young people, today receives £8,700. Conor Marshall, Project Director, Feeling Strong, explains the difference the funding will make to the lives of young people:

“We are thrilled to have received this support from the Year of Young People National Lottery Fund, which will allow us to develop the skills and confidence of young people who face mental health challenges through our Make Your Mark programme. Over the course of the ten week programme our participants will be able to develop their abilities in sports, the creative arts or enterprise and benefit from the mentorship of near peers who have a similar lived experience. This unique programme has been designed by young people, will be delivered by young people, for young people and we believe that Make Your Mark has the potential to be truly transformative.”

Scottish Cycling will train 18 young Dundonians to become mountain bike leaders, thanks to an award of £9,700.

Welcoming the news, Graeme McLean of Scottish Cycling, said: “This National Lottery funding will make a massive difference to young people in Dundee. We will be working with Angus Cycle Hub, Dundee City Council and Discovery JCC to train young people to be mountain bike leaders in the fantastic parks around Dundee. These new leaders will then be able to help support more children and young people to access the sport and help grow the mountain bike community in Dundee. We ran a pilot last year and the young people involved loved the programme and it really opened their eyes as to the quality of mountain biking on their doorstep.”

Today’s funding boost comes as the city prepares to welcome the launch of the eagerly anticipated V&A Dundee, a new international centre of design that will present the best of Scottish creativity and the finest of design from around the world. Made possible with over £19 million of National Lottery cash, it is set to become a place of inspiration, discovery and learning for visitors from across the globe. 
 
Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Seona Reid, said on behalf of the Scottish National Lottery distributors: “I am delighted that young people in Dundee will be joining in Scotland’s Year of Young People celebrations, thanks to this National Lottery funding. As well as improving young peoples’ skills and confidence, these projects will put young people front and centre in developing and running activities that improve their health and wellbeing. The news comes as the new National Lottery funded V&A Dundee is about to open its doors, also made possible by the generosity of National Lottery players so it’s an exciting time for those people living in the city.”

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 0141 242 1524
Email: pressteam.scotland@biglotteryfund.org.uk 
Website: national-lottery-yoyp.org.uk 
Twitter: #SparkAChange #NationalLottery

Notes to editors:

• 2018 is the Year of Young People in Scotland. To mark the occasion, a new fund from The National Lottery has been made available for projects celebrating young people aged 8 to 26 across Scotland.
• The Year of Young People National Lottery Fund is a joint awards programme from the Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, sportscotland – the national agency for sport - and Spirit of 2012 Trust, a UK trust endowed with funds from the Big Lottery Fund.
• Since The National Lottery began in 1994, Lottery players have raised £3bn of #NationalLottery funding has been invested in 63,000 projects across Scotland.
• Heritage Lottery Fund invests money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about - from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. 
• sportscotland is the national agency for sport. It is a non-departmental public body, responsible through ministers to the Scottish Parliament. It is a National Lottery Fund distributor and is governed by National Lottery distribution rules. sportscotland invest Scottish Government and National Lottery resources to build a world-class sporting system for everyone in Scotland. 
• Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
• Spirit of 2012 funds arts and sports projects that foster greater community cohesion, empower those who are most under-served and challenge perceptions of disability.