South West Reap Rich Awards For Community Celebrations

10.03.2008 16:45:00

A mediaeval fayre bringing together the local Hilmarton community, a learning garden in North Cornwall and the Royal British Legion commemorative day are just three of 82 projects in the region sharing grants worth £536,878 in the latest round of the Lottery’s Awards for All programme announced today.

Awards for All is the small grants scheme administered by the Big Lottery Fund on behalf of Lottery good cause funders, Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport England. The scheme makes awards of between £300 and £10,000 to grass roots community groups and voluntary organisations.

Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund Head of the South West region, said on behalf of the Awards for All funders: “Awards for All supports activities that benefit people right across the age range and in many different fields doing essential work in their local communities. In this current round, a total of over £536,878 is going to support over 80 groups in their community- based work.”

Hilmarton Parish Heritage Society in North Wiltshire will use its £6,485 to re-create a fayre once started by Edward the First back in 1300. The last recorded fayre in Hilmarton dates back to 1621 and the Hilmarton Parish Heritage Society will revive the event for all to enjoy on Saturday 6 September at Hilmarton Primary School.

St. Marks VCCE Primary School in North Cornwall will build an area within the school grounds with its £9,450 grant, where pupils, children and adults can get hands-on experience with organic gardening, wildlife and general agriculture.

Also benefiting from a grant of £1,292 is the Royal British Legion Alphington and District Branch that will host a celebratory event commemorating the 80th anniversary of its formation. The celebrations will include a social evening on Saturday 14 June and a community parade including the Exeter Pipes and Drum Military Band on Sunday 15 June.

Other groups to benefit from this round of awards include The Mead Community Primary School, Wiltshire which receives £4,885 to develop a Green Fair with interactive exhibitions, group and individual activities focused around environmental issues, and Sue Hooper Charitable Foundation, Caradon, which will hold a festival for the community to celebrate art, music and culture with a grant of £10,000 from Awards for All.

Client name: The Big Lottery Fund

Web link: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk