Community groups receive boost from Awards for All

St Mary’s Altinure Youth Club are amongst the 89 groups across Northern Ireland who are sharing £714,497 from Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme.

St Mary’s Altinure Youth Club, based in the Park area of County Londonderry, provides a range of youth based activities for young people in the area. They are using a £4,150 grant to provide more activities, including coding, a nail course, arts and crafts sessions, dance classes, and buying new equipment.

Radius Housing Association Limited are using an £8,700 grant to provide an outdoor play area at a housing scheme for vulnerable mothers and children in Londonderry. The organisation provides social and supported housing across Northern Ireland.

Enagh Seniors Group in Strathfoyle supports older people and provides activities to reduce social isolation. They received a £5,420 grant to provide more activities, including producing a reminiscing book, a community newsletter, day trips, and a patchwork quilting workshop.

Leafair Community Association, which supports the community through a range of services and facilities, is using a £9,000 grant to deliver intergenerational activities, events, and training workshops. They will also hold a residential weekend for young people and buy polytunnels for a community garden.

North West Japanese Cultural Group promotes the Japanese culture in Northern Ireland. They are using a £5,263 grant to organise film showings and a book project to demonstrate the cultural exchange between Japan and Ireland over the past 100 years.

Also receiving funding is the Glen Youth Club. The organisation, which is based in Londonderry, supports young people to improve their personal and social development. They received a £10,000 grant to deliver activities, a canoeing qualification, a residential, and fact finding trip to the Wirral Youth Zone in England.

Julie Harrison, Big Lottery Fund NI Chair, said: “I am delighted to announce these grants under the Awards for All programme and I want to say thanks to all the National Lottery players who have helped make this possible.

“Awards for All funds health, education, environment and community projects that help people bring about positive change in their lives, improve health and well-being, develop skills and create safer communities. “The application process is simple and accessible and shall remain so, making it easy for applicants to successfully apply for small pots of funding that can have such a big impact on local communities and lives.”

Awards for All Application www.biglotteryfund.org.uk. Call 028 9055 145 or email [email protected]