How you’ve helped raise £600m to beat crisis
Thanks to National Lottery players, up to £600m is being used to support good causes across the UK during the coronavirus crisis
You might not know it, but you’re giving a lockdown lifeline to hundreds of thousands of people across the UK.
You’re helping to tackle loneliness and isolation. You’re providing meals to people who cannot leave home. And you’re helping fund projects that support physical and mental health in communities across the entire nation.
We’re facing exceptional times brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
But thanks to you, up to £600million of funding from The National Lottery is being distributed over the next few months to communities affected by the outbreak. Put simply, you’re part of the biggest non-governmental contribution to the efforts to combat coronavirus.
EXTRAORDINARY
Right across the UK, communities, families and individuals have shown extraordinary resilience in adapting to life under lockdown, and have found ways to make the most of this unprecedented situation.
Others have found it harder as the support networks they usually rely on face restrictions. It’s become more difficult to get essential items to the people who need them most, while the crisis has triggered an instantaneous and profound rise in foodbank use as household incomes have plunged.
But, thanks to The National Lottery and its players – as well as the magnificent determination and imagination of the people who run these vital services – charities, good causes and local projects have been able to continue operating and offering support to the communities they serve.
Organisations previously awarded National Lottery grants before the coronavirus crisis began are now using the funding they received to adapt. Others have reached out for help specifically to cope with the effects it has had on their services.
Funding has spanned the arts, heritage, education, community, environment and sports. Projects range from nationwide initiatives such as the Youth Sports Trust, which has launched free-to-access activities for children at home, right down to local community projects tackling social isolation through the introduction of new online services in recent weeks.
COMMUNITIES
The charity Crops In Pots has kept frontline careworkers mobile by funding a local initiative offering free bicycles where public transport has been reduced, and helped community cafés deliver food packages. You’re helping thousands of children stay active at home, and providing online services to vulnerable young people. You’ve helped a drop-in centre make hundreds of handmade pies for our NHS staff, provided online physiotherapy sessions for people with multiple sclerosis, and made sure hot meals are being delivered to people who can’t leave home.
By playing The National Lottery, you’re helping initiatives such as the South Denbighshire Community Partnership tackle rural poverty. They have received National Lottery funding for a new minibus, which they are using to deliver food
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF POUNDS WILL BENEFIT THOSE PROJECTS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE CRISIS ‘In these uncertain times, lottery funding takes on an even greater significance, as we come together to deliver a national effort.’ OLIVER DOWDEN, SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
people who have registered for help.
Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “In these uncertain times, lottery funding takes on an even greater significance, as we come together to deliver a national effort. So I am delighted that The National Lottery is channelling its support to help those most in need across these sectors.
“This will help support vulnerable people who are relying on us, and continue to keep Britain active, educated and entertained both during and after this epidemic.”