Five hard-working community groups in London are calling on local people to help them secure up to £70,000 of National Lottery funding by voting for them in this year’s The People’s Projects.
Back after a three-year break, The National Lottery Community Fund, ITV, UTV and the Sunday Mail (in Scotland) have teamed up to give the public a chance to decide how National Lottery funding should be put to good use in their local area.
All five will have the opportunity to showcase their work on ITV London, as they go head-to-head in a public vote in this year’s The People’s Projects to help them make an extraordinary difference to their community.
In the running for a share of National Lottery funding in London are:
Furzedown Farmers by The Furzedown Project in Wandsworth
The project will create a gardening club, bringing people who are isolated in the community together to grow vegetables and learn about nutrition. The aim is to support physical and mental health, as well as to build lasting relationships through a shared hobby.
HALO Play Café by Halo Children’s Foundation in Hillingdon
The project will provide a Kids Club and safe space for bereaved children to access bereavement support. The children will attend a weekly support group to make friends and build confidence and self-esteem to understand death, and to help rebuild their life after loss.
Songs & Smiles by The Together Project CIO in Waltham Forest
The project will set-up intergenerational music groups, bringing together 0-4 year olds, their parents/guardians and older adults in five local care homes every week. Using song, movement and play, the project aims to reduce loneliness and isolation for older people in the community and improve wellbeing.
Sport For Futures by Coin Street Centre Trust in Lambeth
The project will deliver sports, wellbeing and life skills programmes to young people of all ages and abilities in the community. The aim is to set young people up on a path to success and give them the tools and skills needed to achieve their goals and transform their future.
Wigs For Heroes by Wigs For Heroes in Haringey
The project will create a social space where people affected by cancer can come together to take part in workshops and seek advice. The space will be used to sell pre-loved goods, run support group meetings, workshops, wig fittings and coffee clubs to help improve the mental health and wellbeing.
The three projects with the most public votes will receive grants of up to £70,000. This funding will help make a real difference to people’s lives, particularly in these difficult times. The runners up will be offered up to £10,000 towards their project, bringing the total funding up for grabs for communities across the UK to over £4 million.
The People’s Projects not only delivers vital grants to the heart of UK communities, but also raises awareness of the incredible work of the shortlisted community groups vying for votes. Since it started in 2005, The People’s Projects has awarded around £45 million to over 1,000 good causes.
Blondel Cluff CBE, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “As the largest funder of community activity in the UK, we are proud to deliver vital funding to the heart of communities, particularly in these challenging times. Thanks to National Lottery players, The People’s Projects is a fantastic initiative that showcases the incredible efforts of truly inspirational and hard-working groups, each delivering life-changing support to help their community thrive. We encourage the public to vote and have their say in how much-needed funding is used in their local area to make a difference to people’s lives.”
Voting opens at 9am on Monday 15th May and closes at noon on Friday 26th May. People can vote only once per region and will need an email address or mobile number to vote*. Visit www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk to vote, read the terms and conditions and see a full list of projects involved across the UK.
The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, distributes money raised by National Lottery players, who raise over £30 million each week across the UK for good causes.
Last year, it awarded over half a billion pounds (£579.8 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, supporting over 14,500 projects. Over the last three years, its funding has reached every constituency and every local authority in the UK.
To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk
