£150,000 to be won across ITV West Country West
The Big Lottery Fund, ITV and The National Lottery have teamed up to give the UK public the chance to decide how £3 million of Big Lottery funding will make a difference in their local area.
Five projects have been shortlisted in ITV West Country West to take part in a TV competition where the three with the most public votes will receive grants of up to £50,000. Voting opens today at 9am thepeoplesprojects.org.uk.
The Big Lottery Fund wanted to celebrate some of the incredible projects it has funded and has worked with ITV to shortlist 95 projects across the UK. Projects in each region will compete for National Lottery funding to develop their work even further to improve the lives of people in their communities.
ITV West Country West regional evening news will feature the projects at 6pm over five nights starting tonight when the Embracing Nature project by Parent Carer Council for Cornwall in St Austell will be featured. If successful the group will receive £43,000 to develop its programme of sensory-based outdoor activities for disabled children, including natural play, cooking, den-building, instrument-making, storytelling and gardening. The group will also train more parents to offer the experience to other families. This project will help reduce the children’s feelings of exclusion, teach them about nature and improve their confidence and self-esteem. It will also bring families together to share positive experiences.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) it will be the turn of Soundart Radio with their Feeling Sound project in South Hams, South Devon. They hope to receive £49,232 to extend the reach of their community radio programmes led by and for young people. The content will be researched and created by the young people themselves, and they will conduct interviews with experts and health professionals on issues like obesity, teenage pregnancy, sexual health, drugs and alcohol. This will help the young people grow in confidence, get their voices heard and support others, as well as give them valuable new skills in journalism and production.
On Wednesday it will be the Help from a Horse project by The Horse Course in Dorchester, Dorset. They are competing for £48,500 to expand their project supporting adults and young people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. They will work with specially trained horses and learn new self-control skills, like staying calm and focussed, to gain their trust. This will help people unable to progress through talk-based treatment find the self-belief to start their journey to recovery. A club will also be set up for people to help out with feeding and grooming in return for horsemanship lessons.
Thursday’s programme will feature the Interactive Life Care Radio project by Life Care Radio in Ivybridge, Devon who hope to receive £30,400 to improve the facilities in its studio at Totnes Hospital, where it produces a radio service for nursing and residential homes in Brixham and Ivybridge. This includes a new turntable to play donated vinyl records and equipment to allow listeners and their friends to text in and request songs. This will encourage more people to connect with the station and help them feel less isolated. The group will also extend the listening service to 20 more care homes in the region.
The final project to be shown will be the Time To Play: Raising smiles for precious lives project by Children’s Hospice South West in Barnstaple, North Devon on Friday. If successful they will receive £26,400 to put play at the heart of their hospices supporting life-limited children and their siblings. Activities will include treasure hunts, storytelling, music therapy and days out. There will also be activities for teenagers and those experiencing bereavement. These will be tailored to the child’s needs or involve other children to encourage conversation and friendship giving them experiences that others take for granted and support to siblings that often have to act as young carers.
ITV’s Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid said: “The People’s Projects is an exciting opportunity for you to make a difference to your community. All you have to do to get involved is vote. We are showcasing shortlisted projects across ITV West Country West so you’ll see who is competing for the funding in your area. So tune in and get voting!”
Dawn Austwick Big Lottery Fund chief executive said: “Each year we make 13,000 awards to groups and projects that make lives and communities better. The People’s Projects put you in charge of where money will be spent where you live, so make sure that you get online to pick your winning project.”
Voting closes at midday on Sunday 13 March. People can only vote once per region and will need an email address to vote*. To vote go to www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk
Since 2005 the Big Lottery Fund and ITV have given the public a say in awarding more than £30 million of National Lottery funding to 600 good causes across the UK.
