Embargoed until 01.00 hrs 10 February 2000

Families and the young receive Lottery grants from the Charities Board

Children, young people and families benefit from the latest round of grants announced today by the National Lottery Charities Board. Eight national organisations working throughout the UK receive grants totalling over £1.5 million.

The awards were made under the Charities Board’s Community involvement and Poverty and disadvantage programmes, which seek to help those at greatest disadvantage in society and improve the quality of life in the community.

The Family Holiday Association receives a grant of £180,000 over two years. FHA’s main activity is funding holidays for children and families in need. Every year it enables a thousand families to have the opportunity to go on a holiday that they could otherwise not afford. The project will allow them to fund an additional 300 family holidays across the UK.

Contact a Family receives a grant of £294,042 over three years. The organisation was set up in 1979 to provide information, support and expertise to over a thousand parent carers self-help groups. The aim of the new project is to help parents and families affected by a rare disorder to link up with others affected by the same condition. The project aims to set up 15 new support groups each year with the intention of increasing awareness among the public and the medical profession, to campaign for better treatment and to provide social support for affected families.

The Children’s Legal Centre was established in 1980 and exists to provide legal advice and assistance regarding all aspects of the law and its effects on children and young people. The project, which receives funding of £171,618 over three years, will extend the CLC’s telephone service to include fax, letter and email. The service will also now be able to offer youth organisations and charities help in drafting policies on such issues as vetting and confidentiality. Training in legal issues affecting children will also be extended to childcare professionals as well as lawyers.

Amanda Jordan, Chair of the Charities Board UK Committee, which awarded the grants, said: "These groups work with disadvantaged children and families throughout the UK. We are funding projects which will help them enjoy a better quality of life by overcoming many of the barriers that they face."

Media enquiries: Robert Blow, 0171-747 5227

For an application pack for Community involvement and Poverty and disadvantage, please call 0845 7919191.

Notes to editors

1. The National Lottery Charities Board distributes money from the National Lottery to voluntary and community groups. It receives 4.7 pence of every £1 spent on the Lottery. Since 1995 the Charities Board has awarded more than £1.5 billion to more than 28,000 groups.
2. A full list of grants awarded today is attached to this release.