Groups in lottery cash boost

Lottery cash has rained down on a cluster of groups.

The chief beneficiary is Ayrshire Cancer Support where the bank balance has been swelled by £ 127,150.

A range of interesting projects have received funding including the expansion of a village co- op.

Straiton Village Co- op is getting £ 4370 for architect’s plans to make the shop bigger, form a cafe and extend the kitchen and meeting room.

In Dailly the Community Activity Centre Association has landed £ 10,000 to employ a manager.

The Ayr Housing Aid Centre gets £ 9,996 to improve its computer set- up.

In Cumnock, the Netherthird Initiative for Community Empowerment ( NICE) gets a nice windfall of £ 10,000 to help fund a development officer for the community hall. Another group in East Ayrshire called No- one Dies Alone also gets £ 10,000.

In Ayr there is £ 1,235 to Forehill, Holmston and Masonhill Community Council to stage a fun day.

Also in the town VASA ( Voluntary Action South Ayrshire) gets £ 9,888 for its old peoples’ hub.

Ayrshire Cancer Support say the boost means an extension to specialist services to work with people experiencing a bereavement as a result of COVID- 19.

Laura Brown, the charity’s Head of Income, said: “This funding will allow us to extend the reach of our services to the wider community through our Wellbeing Check- In Service, which provides regular telephone contact to all at risk groups being asked to self- isolate.

“The funding will help us to extend our counselling services to members of the community who have experienced bereavement and trauma through the sad circumstances of a COVID- 19 death.

“It will also help towards our free patient transfer service which takes cancer patients to hospital for treatment.”