22 February 1999

Charities Board helps local groups mark the Millennium

The National Lottery Charities Board has awarded grants amounting to £11.9 million for Millennium community projects. These will help 221 charities and voluntary groups across the UK to join the Millennium Festival celebrations.

More than £50 million in Lottery awards from all the distribution bodies to fund local and regional Millennium projects throughout the UK will be announced by Culture Secretary Chris Smith on 22 February.

In the largest programme of year-long celebrations ever mounted in the UK, the Millennium Festival grants will support events in the year 2000 in every English region and in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The total number of Millennium awards made by the National Lottery Charities Board is:

England 172 awards, totalling £9,431,824

Wales 19 awards, totalling £792,440

Scotland 16 awards, totalling £842,885

Northern Ireland 10 awards, totalling £539,472

UK-wide 4 awards, totalling £241,200

Examples of Charities Board Millennium grants:

Focus Charity, based in Oxford, provides practical learning opportunities for disadvantaged young people and adults. The project will create "Community Champions" - teams of socially excluded young people, people with learning difficulties and managers from the commercial sector - who will work together to organise projects, such as social events for older people, that are of benefit to the community. The grant of £42,596 is for residential facilities, activities equipment and travel costs during the year 2000.

The Centre for Alternative Technology Charity in Wales is an educational project which will inspire young people to develop energy-saving ideas in their own homes. There will be a special emphasis on reaching out to those from the local rural area in Machynlleth, Powys, so the project will improve awareness of the connection between the local and the global environment. Their grant is for £37,726.

Volunteer Development Scotland receives a grant of £95,957 to run a Millennium Festival of Volunteering to promote the value of volunteering and community action. The Festival will celebrate the achievements of volunteers and recruit at least 2000 new volunteers by the year 2001.

Simon Community Northern Ireland, based in Belfast, has received an award of £123,636 to hold a series of public information events to encourage volunteering involving activities for residents. The aim is to build self-confidence and skills and to challenge negative stereotypes of homeless people.

UK-wide charity Awear is the organisation which provides information on clothes for physically disabled people. They work with the fashion industry towards developing affordable made-to-measure clothing and improving access to clothes shops. Their grant of £30,000 will enable them to participate in the ‘Retail Solutions’ exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham in May 2000.

Timothy Hornsby, Chief Executive, Charities Board, said: "The Charities Board gives grants to help those who are at most disadvantage in our society. These grants will enable local groups across the UK to make a real difference to their communities in the year 2000."

Media enquiries: Robert Blow 0171-747 5227