27 August 1998

Charities Board Awards over £2.3 Million to Communities in Wales

The National Lottery Charities Board today announced the award of £2,368,999 to 22 groups in Wales under its main grants programme Community involvement.

Groups that operate throughout Wales as well as regional and local groups feature in today's awards which are the first since the launch of the Community involvement programme. All-Wales groups include the women's group Merched Y Wawr, which receives £207,000 to provide a multipurpose national headquarters in Aberystwyth, and Business in the Community which receives £171,178 to develop the work of the Professional Firms Group in supporting community activity by providing free professional expertise in finance, legal, marketing and property matters.

The largest award of £341,520 goes to Beth Shan (Hebrew for 'House of Safety') to provide a 'dry house' in Aberystwyth as a place of safety and rehabilitation for addicts who have been through a detoxification programme.

Keith Hellawell, the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, who was the guest of honour at the announcement said: "Drugs affect all of us - through costs to health, through crime, and through their destructive impact on families and communities. They are by no means limited to one sector of society or geographical areas.

"My role as UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator is to co-ordinate nationally the work of all those involved in drug work from government departments to local drug agencies. In April the Government published its anti-drugs White Paper, which set out our national long-term aims over the next ten years. The aims are ambitious but I believe we can deliver.

"The answer to how lies in community action, in communities working together in partnership to tackle the drugs problem. I am delighted to see that this addict rehabilitation centre here in our host town Aberystwyth has successfully applied for a Charities Board grant for community involvement work and I hope other voluntary or charitable groups involved in anti-drugs work around the country will be making applications to the Charities Board in the future".

Among others awarded grants today was Swansea Neath Port Talbot Crossroads Care Attendant Scheme, receiving £195,316 for ten part-time staff and other running expenses, and Llandyfaelog Village Hall Committee, receiving £68,455 towards refurbishing the hall.

Tom Jones, Chair of the National Lottery Charities Board in Wales, said: "We look forward to seeing the benefits of the projects awarded grants today reaching communities across Wales. Beside people seeking relief from the effects of drugs, others benefiting from these projects include children, youth, the physically or mentally disadvantaged, and carers. I hope that the success of the groups obtaining grants today will inspire others who are striving to change their communities to turn to the Charities Board for assistance to achieve their goals."

Director for Wales, Roy Norris, added: "Community involvement is an on-going programme and there are no deadlines for applications. The sooner an application is made, though, the sooner it could be funded. A success rate of two out of three eligible applicatons in this round should be incentive enough for many more groups to apply. The Charities Board has an enquiries line and we also hold seminaros across Wales to help groups making an application. Our information service caters for all manner of questions, from those makinig the first approach to those who have previously been unsuccessful. Other current grant programmes are the Small grants scheme and Health and social research."

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