Island groups share lottery cash
More than £120,000 of National Lottery cash is to help bolster community efforts of three island community groups.
The groups on Lismore, Mull with Iona and Kerrera are among 141 groups in all across Scotland receiving a split of £7.3 funding.
Many of the projects are to help people support each other through the COVID-19 crisis but others, like on Lismore and Kerrera, are to bring people together and give hope for the future once the outbreak is over.
Lismore Community Trust has been awarded £25,054 to provide a weekly activities programme and lunch club, a soft play zone, a youth club and an IT/Learning space. The one year project will engage up to 100 people with support from 15 local volunteers.
Trust chairman Sebastian Tombs said: ‘On behalf of the Community Trust directors, we are delighted to have secured National Lottery Community Fund support for the School House Project at Achnacroish. This will build on the positive activities we have organised to date, and allow them to be expanded with part-time development officer leadership, especially for the younger members of the community. It is great to be able to undertake some refurbishment of the facility, to complement the other important community assets on the island, and strengthen our resilience for the future.’
South West Mull and Iona Development has received £10,000 and will use the money in partnership with the Ross of Mull and Iona Community Transport Scheme to make sure people have access to food, medicines, supplies and get telephone and online support.
Over on Kerrera, as previously reported in The Oban Times, the Isle of Kerrera Development Trust will spend its £85, 584 on delivering a programme of community-led activities including a music group, arts and crafts workshops, a playgroup and a book club.
The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland director, Neil Ritch, said: ‘In these difficult and unprecedented times, it’s heartening to see the way Scottish communities are coming together to provide each other with support. These awards, made possible by National Lottery players, recognise the hugely valuable and important contribution that Scotland’s voluntary and community sector plays in boosting the health, wellbeing and morale of local people.
‘Many of them have found innovative ways to keep their communities connected during the current crisis, whilst others will support people in the future when they can physically come back together to make great things happen in their community.’
Over the next six months the National Lottery Community Fund will focus its funding in Scotland on projects supporting organisations and communities to respond to the challenge of COVID-19.
To find out more about the awards go to TNLCommunityFund.org.uk