Nine community projects to receive National Lottery funding of over £86,000

National Lottery

Local community groups and organisations are celebrating after being awarded funding from the National Lottery.

Whittaker Moss Primary School, Busy Bodies, will receive £10,000 towards developing the school grounds to create an outdoor sensory and roleplay resource accessible to local residents, with the aim of developing skills.

Status, The All 2gether Now Project, will receive £10,000. The funding will be used to run a range of activities for people who are not in education, employment or training, those with special educational needs, low-income families and people whose first language is not English. Activities will include growing produce, cookery, arts and crafts and carpentry.

Smallbridge and Belfield Youth Forum will receive £10,000 for the forum to establish a new youth club to provide a space for young people from across the community to come together for fun, socialisation and information.

Cartwheel Arts Limited, Creativity is Contagious will receive £9,970 to help the organisation to deliver creative arts activity sessions for adults with mental health and addiction issues, with the aim of engaging with participants to improve wellbeing.

Nurture Psychology Service Music, Resilience and Happiness for looked after children will receive £9,950. The funding will be used to provide music and song writing workshops and radio production sessions for looked after children. This will provide creative activities for them to develop new skills, produce songs and a radio show, interview health specialists, and make steps towards improving their resilience and wellbeing.

Howard Street Nursery School's ‘Early Years Together’ Project Partnership will receive £9,950. The funding will be used to install play equipment at the nursery school for the benefit of young children in the community. The project aims to improve the facilities and develop the key skills of the children.      

St John's VA Church of England Primary School, Thornham will receive £9,675. This project is to improve the schools existing playground with new equipment. As there is no park in the village it is a valuable community space where families meet and groups have events. New play equipment will improve the area for everyone to enjoy.   

Midas Adventure Activities, Sisters Walking and Doing it Together Health Project will receive £8,500. This funding will support a walking group for young women in Rochdale. They will explore the local hills, go on residential trips, take on new challenges and learn about the historic and natural environment. The project will improve their physical health, self-esteem and communication skills.         

Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale Circle, Connecting the Circle will receive £8,012. The funding will be used to run user-designed activities and events for older people, as well as provide support and advice. The project aims to help reduce social isolation among older people by supporting them to develop strong social networks.   

Jenny Rouse, Head of Regional Funding at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “All over the country, National Lottery money is being used by people who are taking the lead in developing great ideas to help their communities thrive. They know and understand the needs of their area better than anyone else and are best-placed to develop projects to tackle them. These projects in Greater Manchester are brilliant examples of this and, thanks to National Lottery players, we are proud to be able to support them to change lives for the better.”

The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for giving out money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. As part of today’s announcement, it has revealed that it is making grants totalling almost £80 million going to more than 2,200 community organisations across England.