A BEREAVEMENT CHARITY SET UP BY MUM WHO LOST HER BABY AND HUSBAND IS JUST ONE OF MANY HELPED BY £1BN OF NATIONAL LOTTERY FUNDING
When Rhian Mannings’ little boy George died in hospital and her anguished husband Paul committed suicide five days later, she could have given in completely to her grief.
Instead brave Rhian launched 2 Wish Upon a Star, a Wales-based charity that supports families when they suffer the sudden death of a child or young person under 25.
To date the charity has helped more than 890 bereaved families. With National Lottery funding she can expand the team in order to grow her support network. “Thanks to The National Lottery we’ve quadrupled the amount of families we’re supporting,” says Rhian.
Rhian’s charity is just one of thousands of public-spirited projects that have been supported with National Lottery funding through the pandemic: National Lottery players have raised £1billion to help people across the UK during these unprecedented times. That’s been a massive boost to communities, as well as the arts, heritage, conservation and sports. And it is no small achievement. Apart from the
of the thousands of projects and people you helped during the past 12 months.
Becky Dell helped launch Citizens of the World Choir, a 53-strong singing group of refugees and asylum seekers made up of 28 nationalities. The London-based choir offers hope and emotional sanctuary to its members and to communities it performs for. Becky even kept up rehearsals and shows in the pandemic by going online.
Debbie Mcgowan is the manager of National Lottery-funded children’s play organisation The Urban Fox Programme, which offers activities and outdoors sessions such as cooking and kayaking, to young people. Like many charities, The Urban Fox Programme had to adapt how it engaged with its young people during the pandemic. Gone were the youth groups and in-person projects. Instead Debbie used her team of youth workers to support the younger children in the area.
National Lottery funding was given to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, set up to commemorate the service and sacrifice of members of the armed forces. There are now plans to create a memorial to NHS workers who have died from Covid-19.
PROUD
Thanks to National Lottery players, Body & Soul, a charity that supports families struggling with the life-threatening effects of trauma, has enhanced its counselling services. These include delivering 1,500 support calls helping young people who have attempted suicide in the past six months and 44 therapy skills groups.
The support of National Lottery players has also meant that nearly 9,000 community schemes have been funded, 759 support groups looking after the isolated have been helped, and 316 community gardens have flourished.
So you should all be proud of the difference that you have made to the lives of thousands of people.
Thanks to The National Lottery we’ve quadrupled the amount of bereaved families we’re supporting RHIAN MANNINGS, 2 WISH UPON A STAR
A REPORT on the Hazel Road explosion which rocked Bell Green 30 years ago brought back memories for readers.
The blast in August 1990 levelled a block of maisonettes after a resident had taken out a wall heater.
Ken Crawley lived right by where the explosion occurred and was left up to his neck in rubble.
Ken commented on the article to give his side of the story.
He said: “The original article is an interesting read with some inaccuracies. I wasn’t rescued by neighbours, but by the fire brigade as by then flames were licking around the wall at the end of what had been my bedroom.
“The whole of the flat next door, both up and down had vanished. It was extremely lucky that no-one was killed.
“My bedroom collapsed into the flat below.
Fortunately, the lady who lived there had gone away for the weekend.
“The couple who lived above the flat had, on the spur of the moment I believe, gone out for the evening and of course the couple who were doing up the flat below them hadn’t moved in yet.”
Despite the extent of the devastation, nobody was seriously hurt, including Ken.
He said: “I was lucky to escape with just a cut to my forehead and, discovered a week later, a fractured rib.
“My two daughters, Carla and Joanne, who were asleep in the small bedroom furthest away from the blast had a lucky escape with no lasting effects.
“We were all checked over in the old Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital.”
Ken went on to explain how he never moved back to Hazel Road after the incident, but was always touched by the kindness of those around him.
He said: “I never moved back. it took a couple of years to rebuild the half of the block that was damaged but mostly still there. I sold it and moved away.
“What I remember most of all was the positive side of the event. The kindness of strangers who donated clothes (all mine were destroyed in a flash, literally) offered a place to stay or just listened as I told my tale and got the experience off my chest.”
If you have some memories you’d like to share of the explosion, email danny.thompson@ reachplc.com