Lottery thousands for good causes

Good causes across Monklands have hit the funding jackpot in a bumper round of awards from the National Lottery’s community fund.

The largest local grant went to Airdrie citizens’advice bureau, which will receive £103,861 for a three-year project to set up a new volunteer befriending support service.

It will support vulnerable people of working age who are currently being supported by the bureau’s tribunal unit, working to reduce social isolation and improve health and wellbeing, and is expected to involve 100 people and 10 volunteers.

The Airdrie-based Moira Anderson Foundation will receive £48,995 to continue its work in supporting those who have experienced or been affected by childhood sexual abuse.

Marking its 20th anniversary this year, the charity will work with 655 people and involve 21 volunteers during the next year through projects and sessions supported by the funding.

A further £10,000 has gone to the Let’s Stay Connected project being run at St Augustine’s Church in Coatbridge, and will help to fund the parish’s busy service delivering food, toiletries, prescription and essential items to elderly, vulnerable and isolating local residents.

The church project was among several supporting the community response to the coronavirus lockdown to receive lottery grants, with African Lanarkshire for Mental Health receiving £6400 to provide emergency food parcels and a phone check-in service for vulnerable African families; while Right Track Scotland, which has a base in Coatbridge, will receive £4127 for IT equipment to support the young people and families it works with.

Coatbridge social group Nifty Fifties has received £9000 for its programme of educational, leisure and social activities for local residents; while Gartcosh Playgroup is to benefit from £5629 to help towards the running costs of its two toddler and two playgroup sessions per week for children aged between two and five years.

Awards from the National Lottery community fund in Scotland will focus for the next six months on projects supporting organisations and communities in responding to the challenges of Covid-19; information and application details are available at www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk.