Destined needs your votes to count

Destined is one of seven Northern Ireland groups through to the semi-finals of the National Lottery Awards 2010 and now needs the help of the Derry public to make it through to the final round.

The next step is a public vote which gets underway today and Destined members will be asking the local public to get them over the final hurdle.

Founded in 2002, Destined has established itself in Great James Street as a pivotal service for local people with learning difficulties and operates a seven day service from its drop-in centre offering a range of courses from literacy to IT, drama and sport.

Last year Destined received 2,480 in funding from the Lottery’s Big Deal Small Grants Programme towards a residential weekend trip for some of its members.

The Access to Citizenship project has a chance to bag 2,000 for Destined if it qualifies from Northern Ireland.

Destined founder Dermott O’Hara, is urging the Derry public to vote the group through to the finals in London.

“The fact that Destined has made it this far is a testament to the worthwhile work it does for people who otherwise would feel isolated and left behind by society. Destined exists to empower people with disabilities and recognition from the National Lottery shows the value of this project. We know that the people of Derry and their enthusiasm will take us through to the finals and we are appealing for all the help we can get from schools, businesses, organisations and the general public.”

Michael Cole, a member of Destined, said: “We’re going to put a massive effort into this and we are asking the people of Derry to support us and take us to the finals in London. Over the next few weeks we will be running a campaign to get as many votes as possible. We want to go all the way and win this and prove that this Derry group for people with learning difficulties has become a very important part of our lives.”

The winning project in each category will take part in a star studded BBC1 TV show later this year and will receive 2,000.

Voting for the semi-finals gets underway today and ends at midday on Friday June 18. To register your vote for Destined’s Access to Citizenship category call: 08446861992 or vote online at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards.

The three projects in each of the seven categories with the highest number of votes will go through to the final round of public voting in July.

For further information on Destined’s bid, contact Dermot O’Hara: 02871 362424.