Community group awarded National Lottery funding to expand its Wrexham wellbeing hub

A community group aiming to expand its well-being hub services in Wrexham has been awarded thousands of pounds to take its project forward.

95 communities across Wales have been allocated a share of £1,242,453 from The National Lottery Community Fund.

As the impacts of the measures to control COVID-19 grow, the fund continues to award grants and support local communities to deal with the challenges posed by the lockdown. Staff are working from home and the organisation says its priority is ensuring that money keeps flowing into communities.

Three of the 95 organisations funded this month are:

• Mind Ltd in Mold applied for £9,750 to continue and expand their Wellbeing Hub in Wrexham.
• Kidcare4U in Newport who received £9,994 to support familes overcome language barriers to stay connected in their communities.
• Resolven Building Blocks in Neath, received £99,885 to deliver a mental health service over three years for families with children and young people who have disabilities. They plan to offer tailored counselling sessions, peer support groups and workshops for parents and family actions plans.

John Rose, Wales Director, The National Lottery Community Fund said: “As the largest funder of community activity in the UK, our first priority is to support people and communities through our funding in the best way we can.

“We want to reassure the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector that we are still here and still making awards. In fact, we have committed up to £300 million of National Lottery funding to support communities in dealing wth the current crisis. This is not new money, but it will be fast tracked into communities.

“We appreciate that many of the organisations who have just heard they have been awarded funding may need to delay the delivery of their project. We will be flexible and trust that all our grant holders know what is best as they manage the impact of these challenging times.”

The Fund announced last week that, over the next six months, up to £300m of National Lottery funding will be awarded across the UK, to address the current crisis.

Some of the organisations who have previously had grants are already adapting the support they offer, as they respond to government guidelines on social distancing. For example:

• Same But Different usually based in Mold North Wales has moved its weekly ‘Coffee and Share’ group online so that they can still come together virtually to support one another during these challenging times.
• Mess up the Mess theatre in Carmarthenshire has moved its theatre sessions online so that the young people ,who usually come along in person, can continue to meet regularly.
• New Pathways who offer counselling for survivors of rape and sexual abuse are continuing to provide counselling services, over the phone.

Full updates from The National Lottery Community Fund’s response to the measures to address COVID-19 and general contact details can be found on the website www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk.