Charities and community groups across Yorkshire and Humber have been awarded more than £2.2 million of National Lottery funding since the beginning of June – providing crucial support to overcome challenges caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
This vital funding is being distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. This latest boost now means that, thanks to National Lottery players, over £21 million of funding has been awarded to more than 750 projects in England since the beginning of June.
In this most recent round of grant-giving, 67 community projects in Yorkshire and Humber are receiving a share – ranging from IT equipment for Deaf and hard of hearing children to continue to learn from home, to virtual dancing sessions for people with mobility issues.
Hull FC Community Foundation is one of the good causes stepping up to support people during this challenging time. It has been awarded over £13,000 of National Lottery funding to deliver their ‘Tackle It’ programme, providing activities specifically aimed to support the communities of Orchard Park and Bransholme estates through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project leaders hope to reduce the significant impact the pandemic could potentially have on worsening health inequalities in the area – through loss of work, social isolation, or poor access to key services – and on local people’s physical and mental health.
The project is designed to help participants maintain physical and mental wellbeing and also to provide basic support services that assist people back into employment.
‘Tackle It’ will offer an immediate six month responsive project offering tailored support to approximately 350 of the most affected by COVID-19 in North Hull.
James Price, Head of Foundation, Hull FC, said: “At Hull FC Community Foundation, we pride ourselves on using the power of sport to deliver impactful projects that support people most in need. Thanks to National Lottery players, our ‘Tackle It’ project will offer a lifeline for vulnerable people who have been most affected by Covid-19 to take part in positive activities that promote wellbeing and employment outcomes.”
Abdou Sidibe, Head of Funding for Yorkshire & Humber at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “The National Lottery is playing a critical role in supporting people, projects and communities during these challenging times. Groups such as Hull FC Community Foundation are making an amazing contribution to the community-level response. We’re incredibly grateful for their dedication and the hard work of thousands of projects across the UK – we’re humbled by their efforts and delighted that our funding is able to help.”
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Last year we awarded over half a billion pounds (£588.2 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, and supported over 14,000 projects to turn their great ideas into reality and make a difference in their communities.
Across all of the National Lottery distributors, £600 million has been made available to support communities throughout the UK during the coronavirus outbreak. Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for the UK’s good causes, and £41 billion has been distributed to 565,000 good causes across the UK since 1994.
