South Tyneside Lottery winners could win again

New figures show that more than £722,000 of National Lottery funding was invested in South Tyneside in 2017 alone.

Twenty one National Lottery grants were awarded in the area during last year - providing a vital boost to arts, sports and heritage projects alongside community groups helping those most in need.

The projects include

* £9,952 to Legs Creative Arts to offer fun dance and fitness sessions for people in South Tyneside to help them improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing

* £10,000 to South Tyneside Indoor Bowls and Social Club to improve their facilities

* £9,900 to Urban Flo Dance Studios to deliver dance activities for children, young people and families from disadvantaged communities in South Shields

Any organisation that has ever received National Lottery funding has the possibility of gaining nationwide acclaim by entering The National Lottery Awards 2018 – the annual search for the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects.

National Lottery Awards winners’ will receive a £5,000 cash prize and national recognition at a glittering ceremony broadcast later in the year.

Strictly Come Dancing winner and TV Presenter, Ore Oduba, hosted the National Lottery Awards 2017 BBC One show.

He said: “Every week National Lottery players raise £30m for good causes and that funding is invested in projects around the UK.

“There are thousands of ordinary people doing extraordinary things with National Lottery funding within communities across the country.

“The National Lottery Awards are a rare opportunity to put the spotlight on those who truly deserve it. So if you know a Lottery project that’s making a positive difference, now’s the time to nominate.”

Last year, UK-wide running network, parkrun, won Best Sport Project for its National Lottery funded programme supporting visually impaired runners.

Chris Jones from parkrun said: “Since winning, we’ve seen an increase in numbers of people living with sight loss participating at parkrun. Perhaps more importantly, we’ve seen a transformation in self-confidence for individuals who have found that they can achieve more than they ever thought possible.”

Projects can be nominated for a National Lottery Award in seven categories; Arts, Education, Environment, Health, Heritage, Sport and Voluntary/Charity to reflect the breadth of funding that the National Lottery invests in.

To enter your favourite project in this year’s National Lottery Awards, tweet @LottoGoodCauses with your suggestions or call 0207 293 3329. Entries must be received by midnight on 6 April 2018.