£200,000 to help 25 Shropshire community projects
Charities, churches and community groups across Shropshire all have cause for celebration today as it emerged they have been successful in securing more than £200,000 of National Lottery funding.
The money, raised by players for good causes, will be distributed to 25 community projects, ranging from a volunteering programme for young people to a new community space for arts activities.
See a break-down of how the money has been divided up below
One of the projects is Grow Cook Learn based at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms, which has been awarded almost £4,000.
The group will create a volunteer programme for young people aged 10 to 16, empowering them to be more involved in the local community.
They will have opportunities to take part in activities such as designing and delivering an educational trail for local schools to enjoy and training to become marshals at community events like the Shropshire Way 80K Festival.
This will support them to learn new skills and inspire other young people to take part in volunteering.
Jade Marriott-Lodge, marketing manager at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, said: “It’s really great and really important we are able to do this for the local youths and the community.”
Shrewsbury Food Hub has been given £10,000 and will use the money to employ a project officer to help improve its training of volunteers.
The charity was set up to collect surplus food from supermarkets and share it with community groups which can use it.
It delivers the food to 56 groups including Food Bank Plus, The Ark, Severn Hospice and organisations providing mental health support.
Schools, youth clubs, Age UK day centres, playgroups and children’s sports clubs also benefit.
Katy Anderson, project manager at Shrewsbury Food Hub, said: “We are really delighted to have been given this funding. It will make a huge difference. It will allow us to develop a comprehensive training plan for our 75 volunteers.
“We offer training now but this will make it more effective.
“We have grown so fast in three years which is why it’s so important to invest in the organisation.”
The Telford African and Afro-Caribbean Resource Centre (TAARC) has also been successful in securing £5,250 of lottery funding. The funding will be used to hold black history events for local people of Caribbean and African descent.
The project aims to celebrate achievements, educate younger people on contributions to society, and bring people together to celebrate a shared history.
The group is planning to hold an event involving an exhibition and entertainment at Telford Elim Community Church in October. Natalie Headley, chair of trustees at TAARC, said: “We are excited and grateful to receive the lottery funding. We want to celebrate black history events. We realise how many people came last year and we want to make it bigger and better. We have had a lot of support with our vision.”
A total of £7,559 is being awarded to Open Space Studios in Oswestry, which will use the money to help bring to life a community space above Oswestry Library that has been empty for over 15 years.
Exciting
The building will be transformed so that people of all ages can come together to enjoy activities such as yoga and street dance, reducing loneliness and improving mental health.
Funding has also been given to install new doors and flooring at Ellerdine Village Hall and buy a new first response vehicle for Telford First Responders.
St Mary’s Church in Cleobury Mortimer will benefit from having a heating system upgrade and funding secured by the Church of St John The Baptist in Whittington will be used to carry out an architectural study.
The project aims to improve the building frequently used by the community.
Matt Poole, senior head of regional funding for the Midlands at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “When people work together, good things happen. Thanks to National Lottery players we are able to support an exciting range of organisations in Shropshire and Telford delivering the activities they want to see in their communities.
“Many of the projects we have funded this quarter are focussed on bringing those communities together and enabling people to make new connections. With their ideas, knowledge and passion, this money changes lives.”
The West Midlands as a whole is receiving almost £6.5 million, which is being distributed across more than 300 community projects and organisations.
The National Lottery Community Fund is responsible for giving out money raised by National Lottery players for good causes.
Last year it awarded more than half a billion pounds of life-changing funding to communities across the UK and supported more than 12,000 projects to turn their ideas into reality.
How the money has been divided up
The National Lottery funding awarded to projects and organisations in Shropshire:
Welshampton Parish Hall, near Ellesmere – £10,000
Birchmeadow Park Management Committee – £10,000
Shrewsbury Food Hub – £10,000
Childs Ercall Club – £10,000
Challenging Perceptions CIC, Telford – £10,000
Telford First Responders – £10,000
Friends of St Mary’s Church, Cleobury Mortimer – £10,000
No Panic, Telford – £10,000
The Anstice Community Trust, Telford – £10,000
All Nations Christian Centre, Telford – £10,000
Alberbury Village Hall, near Shrewsbury – £9,990
Haughmond Federation, Shrewsbury – £9,900
The Minsterley Parish Hall – £9,900
Alveley & Romsley Parish Council – £9,850
Ellerdine Village Hall – £9,700
National Flood Forum, Ludlow – £9,570
Shrewsbury LGBT History – £9,280
Welshampton and Lyneal Parish Council – £8,445
Open Space Studios, Oswestry – £7,559
Empathy for special children, Ludlow – £7,500
St Martins Centre, Oswestry – £7,000
Telford African & Afro-Caribbean Resource Centre (TAARC) – £5,250
Grow Cook Learn, Craven Arms – £3,805
Wistanstow Players – £2,000
Church of St John The Baptist, Whittington – £1,296
