Renfrewshire charity to benefit from National Lottery funding

More than 150 Scottish community groups will be getting a boost as over £1million worth of lottery funding is to be shared across selected communities. All Scotland’s National Lottery Awards announced the organisations set to receive grants of up to £10,000.

The Not Forgotten Association will be accepting £8,200 in order to deliver ten concerts for Scottish veterans living in care homes. Renfrewshire’s Snow Camp will also be reaping the benefits with a £10,000 grant. This aims to provide children living in areas of high deprivation with new snow sport opportunities.

Amputee support committee, Edinburgh Limb Loss Association (ELLA), will be receiving an award of £3,850 to enable them to continue running their weekly swimming sessions at the pool in Braidburn School in the city.

The project will be able to help people like James Jarvie, 57 from Edinburgh. After having his lower left leg amputated following a blood clot in December 2016, he was keen to get back into exercise to help him with his recovery.

He said: “I plucked up the courage to go swimming but it took a while as I had lost a bit of confidence and wasn't going out much. I have been going for a year now as it's still pretty much the only exercise I can do.

“It's really difficult for someone in my position to go to a normal swimming baths as they don't have the necessary equipment or specially trained lifeguards. I know I speak on behalf of everyone at ELLA when I say it's so important to us all to keep this going.”

In total 154 groups are receiving National Lottery cash funding totalling £1,116,821. Other groups receiving funding include £9,100 for Action on Elder Abuse in Fife, which works with older people who have been affected by abuse, and £10,000 for The Factory Skatepark in Dundee which operates an indoor wheel sports centre as a social enterprise. They will use the funding to develop a sensory room in the centre for use by children who have sensory deprivation.

A National Lottery Awards for All spokesman said: “This is National Lottery money in action, reaching into communities across Scotland making a real difference to the people who live there.

“The 154 groups receiving funding today showcases the range of projects that can be funded through this programme and the difference that the smallest amounts of money can make.