Get voting today . . . Help Derry community groups win up to 70k of Lottery funding

Local community groups, Parenting NI, which has a project base in Derry, and Ashes to Gold, based in Coleraine are two of five community groups in Northern Ireland, who are calling on local people to help them secure up to £70,000 of National Lottery funding by voting for them in this year’s The People’s Projects.

Back after a three-year break, The National Lottery Community Fund and UTV have teamed up to give the public a chance to decide how National Lottery funding should be put to good use in their local area.

All five groups will have the opportunity to showcase their work from 15-18 May on UTV as they go head-to-head in a public vote in this year’s The People’s Projects to help them make an extraordinary difference to their community.

If successful, The Empathy Tent project, run by Parenting NI in Derry, will provide a safe, welcoming space for men to talk and access support from others who have had similar experiences. The Empathy Tent will travel around Northern Ireland visiting community events, high streets and public spaces for easy access and to improve awareness of poor mental health.

The project GROW by Ashes to Gold, which is based in Coleraine, will develop an outdoor kitchen and run courses to teach the community to grow and cook their own food, save money and minimise food waste. Mindfulness walks will be included in the sessions to help people engage with nature.

They will campaign for votes against the Carers Matter project by Brain Injury Matters in Belfast, the Social Bytes project by Crisis Café in Newry and The UP! Programme by Replay Theatre Company in Belfast.

The three projects with the most public votes will receive grants of up to £70,000. This funding will help make a real difference to people’s lives, particularly in these difficult times. The runners up will be offered up to £10,000 towards their project.

Paul Sweeney, The National Lottery Community Fund’s NI Chair, said: “We are proud to deliver vital funding to the heart of communities across Northern Ireland, particularly in these challenging times.

“Thanks to National Lottery players, The People’s Projects is a fantastic initiative that showcases the incredible efforts of truly inspirational and hard-working groups, each delivering life-changing support to help their communities.

“We encourage the public to vote and have their say in how much-needed funding is used in their local area to make a difference to people’s lives.”

Voting opens at 9am on Monday 15 May and closes at noon on Friday 26 May.

People can vote only once per region and will need an email address or mobile number to vote*.

Visit www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk to vote, read the terms and conditions and see a full list of projects involved.