Mid Ulster community transport service receives over £350,000 in lottery funding

They will be using the funding to expand their rural transport service to cover weekend and evening medical appointments and reduce their carbon footprint.

The NLCF has announced £10m in funding more than 300 grants, ranging from £600 to over £500,000, going to each council area across Northern Ireland.

Other groups to benefit in Mid Ulster are:

Superstars Club in Cookstown who received a £9,935 grant to make improvements to their premises so they can expand the support they provide for people with learning difficulties.

The project will upgrade their kitchen and café areas and will involve the people they support in making the upgrades, providing further learning opportunities and work experience.

Go Kids Go! Has also been awarded a £6,100 grant to run wheelchair skills workshops for children with disabilities and their families in Dungannon.

The workshops will support children to build their confidence using their wheelchair, learn skills to be more independently mobile, and introduce them to wheelchair sports and wheelchair dance.

Mid Ulster Gaming Club, based in Pomeroy, received a £2,560 grant to hold a gaming competition from July to November in gaming clubs across Northern Ireland.

The gaming events will be themed around The Lord of the Rings to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of the films. The project will bring people together to make connections and reduce isolation.

Craic, which is based in Coalisland, is using a £9,950 grant to provide activities and support to women experiencing symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, in Coalisland, Cookstown, Dungannon and Omagh. The project will help the women to understand and cope with their symptoms.

Also receiving funding is Mid Ulster Community First Responders, which cover Cookstown, Magherafelt and the surrounding areas. They are using a £10,000 grant to recruit, co-ordinate and equip local volunteers who will provide life-saving care in an emergency while waiting on the arrival of an ambulance.

Paul Sweeney, NI Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: "We want to get behind communities and help them make the difference on the ground. Our existing grant programmes remain open, so if we can be of assistance, please contact us.”