THE Police Service of Northern Ireland has been awarded £7,355 from the Big Lottery Fund’s ‘Awards for All’ programme to develop an outdoor pursuits programme with young people in the Banbridge area.

The funding is part of a grants roll-out of £554,553 to 66 groups across Northern Ireland which includes a financial boost of £10,000 to the Home-Start organsisation in County Down.

Home-Start, which supports families with children, will use the money to train more volunteers to help families in new areas covered by the scheme in Co. Down.

‘Awards for All’ offers community, voluntary and statutory groups the chance to apply for small grants of between £500 and £10,000 for schemes destined to have an impact on local communities and on the lives of people most in need.

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund NI Chair, said, “The Big Lottery Fund’s NI ‘Awards for All’ programme funds health, education, environment and community projects which 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.”

Application forms and guidance notes are available to download at www.awardsforall.org.uk and anyone who would like more details can call 028 9055 1455 or e-mail enquiriesni@biglotteryfund.org.uk

]]> 1.3546239 Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:37:53 +0000 http://www.banbridgeleader.co.uk/time_to_find_best_national_lottery_projects_1_3542633

RESIDENTS in the Banbridge district have the chance to nominate local good causes for the National Lottery Awards 2012 - the annual search to find the UK’s favourite lottery-funded projects.

Nearly £880 million of National Lottery funding has been awarded to groups across Northern Ireland since the National Lottery began and any organisation – big or small - which has received Lottery funding, is eligible to enter.

National Lottery Draw Show host, Jenni Falconer, encouraged local people to get involved by nominating Lottery-funded projects which are deserving of recognition.

“National Lottery players raise a staggering £30 million every week for good causes,” she said, “and an impressive variety of Lottery-funded projects have touched the lives of many in Northern Ireland, helping vulnerable children, improving participation levels in sport, transforming parks and iconic buildings and celebrating our shared heritage.

“The National Lottery Awards recognise the unsung heroes, selfless volunteers and dedicated workers who are improving lives with Lottery funding. There are literally thousands of Lottery-funded projects across the UK deserving of recognition, so, if you know of a project that is making an outstanding impact in your community, we want to hear from you.”

Entrants which make it to the finals of The National Lottery Awards will receive national recognition at a star-studded event, broadcast on BBC1 later this year. They will also have a chance to win a £2,000 cash prize.

For more information, visit www.nationallotteryawards.org.uk. Entries must be received by 5pm on Monday, 12th March.