Community groups hit the jackpot
Community groups across Mid Argyll and Kintyre will be able to continue providing vital services and support for thousands of local people thanks to a National Lottery funding boost.
The National Lottery Community Fund is being shared amongst 384 projects across Scotland, each getting a slice of a £15,048,544 cash pot.
Locally, an award of £7,500 will allow Tarbert Soup Group to run a one-year reminisce and memories project for elderly members of the group. This will be incorporated into the group’s twice-weekly lunchtime sessions and help improve wellbeing.
Also in Tarbert, £2,000 will improve play resources for the Tarbert Shrimps’ weekly playgroup.
In Campbeltown, Kintyre Link Club has been awarded £10,000 to support its mental health peer support activity, while a grant of £13,668 will be used by Fyne Futures Ltd for a programme of food and garden-related activities and events. These will be hosted on the group’s six-acre site, with a focus on engaging those who may be socially or culturally isolated.
Islay and Jura Community Enterprises Limited has received £4,965, which will be used to support its ongoing aquacare therapy sessions in the MacTaggart Leisure Centre, benefiting both children and adults experiencing disability and long-term health conditions.
Martyn Chandler, project manager, said: “We are delighted to receive funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to enable us to continue our popular aquacare programme.
“Aquacare is a GP referral programme involving personalised exercise regimes in a warm, zero gravity environment for patients that have both mental and physical ailments. Rural deprivation and a lack of access to amenities is well documented in remote rural areas, so being able to continue to offer something like this to our community really is fantastic.”
Kate Still, Scotland chairperson of The National Lottery Community Fund, added: “This latest round of National Lottery funding will be distributed to groups across Argyll and Bute who are providing a range of essential services and support for thousands of local people, helping to make a real difference to their lives.
“As The National Lottery prepares to mark its 30th birthday later this year, this investment is a timely reminder of the difference that National Lottery players continue to make to communities across the country.”
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes funding on behalf of National Lottery players who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK.
Visit www. TNLCommunityFund.org.uk for more information.