Did you know The National Lottery has raised £40bn for good causes since the first draw in 1994?
To celebrate the huge impact that The National Lottery has had on life in the UK, they are running #CelebrateNationalLottery25, a £2m fund giving people the chance to apply for grants of between £100 and £1,000 for an event, activity, or item to purchase, that brings the community together in 2020.
You’ll be amazed at what can be achieved when a small grant meets a big imagination!
Circus performer Jim Webster, 57, applied for a small grant from The National Lottery to help set up classes bringing over-55s together in and around Belfast to learn circus skills. He explains how taking part sparked an unusual friendship…
“Streetwise Community Circus is about working with people from all walks of life, using circus skills to bring people and groups together. What we teach helps to improve mental and physical wellbeing – and tease out performance talents.
“What better example of this than a woman in her late eighties who’s gone from thinking she couldn’t juggle to constantly practising ball tricks,.
“Or what about a 70-year-old who now enjoys stilt walking. These are just two people who we’ve taught that age, health issues and even dementia don’t have to be a barrier to learning new, life-affirming skills, as part of our ‘Age-ility’ scheme.
“Social benefits are important, as people can become isolated in later years, and if you’re also caring for a loved one this can be very true. We work with people with dementia and their carers as part of the project, and while people can be nervous at the start, soon they’re laughing and making friends.
“I was just 24 when I discovered circus performing and it changed my life. I’m a juggler, stilt walker, unicyclist and ladder balancer, but passing these skills on to other people is perhaps the biggest thrill of all.”
HERE’S HOW TO APPLY
You can apply for a grant at CelebrateNationalLottery25.com between November 23 and 2pm on December 6, 2019.
The funding you are requesting must be used between 1st February 2020 and December 31st 2020.
You’ll need to state what you’d like to do, how much money you need and how it will bring people together.
You’ll be eligible to apply if you are a group of two or more people, a registered charity or not-for-profit organisation, a school, college or university or a community council.
Successful applicants will be notified by 31 January and receive a prepaid card in the post soon after.
So, what are you waiting for? Why not help The National Lottery to mark its milestone birthday by making a real difference to the place you live.
The power to make community magic happen is in your hands!
Applicants must be 18+. Ts&Cs apply. See website for further details and to check eligibility.
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