Awards for All grants give three Conwy Valley clubs a helping hand

Feb 25 2010 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

A RANGE of community-based projects across the region are benefiting from a £2m cash boost.

A total of 112 grassroots projects from across Wales will share in the £426,393 awarded under the latest round of the lottery’s BIG’s Awards for All small grants programme.

Three organisations in the Conwy Valley have benefited from the recent round of cash awards including Clwb Garddio, Trefriw Gardening Club who will receive £4,687. Valerie Hannah from the gardening club said the money will go towards four large iron planters for the village.

“We are hoping the four big iron planters we have ordered with the money will be delivered in eight to 12 weeks time so we can plant them up and have them in the village for summer,” she said.

“I would encourage any organisation to try for a Awards for All grant except it did take us the second attempt to secure the funding.”

After-school club Clwb Plant in Dolwyddelan also secured almost £5,000 in BIG lotto cash. Nerys Huws from the club said: “The money will help to run the after-school club which is for three to six year-olds.”

The kids club secured £4,997 in funding, Nerys said it has already been earmarked. She said: “We will use it to buy play equipment and toys for the children and to pay the staff wages.”

Clwb Syrffio in Cerrigydrudion also secured just under £5,000. Another local company who has benefited from lottery funding is Conwy Community Foodshare.

Since its launch in October 2009, Cymru Community Foodshare has delivered over 100 food parcels to people in the community experiencing financial difficulties.

Foodshare stores food donated by the community that can be drawn on by people in crisis.

These supplies take the form of emergency food parcels that cover a family’s basic needs for three days.

As well as essential food items, the charity also provides toiletries, baby food, baby milk and nappies.

The Awards for All programme has awarded more than £20 million of lottery funding to good causes in Wales since 2001.

Recognised as one of the quickest ways to secure lottery funding, it is one of the most successful programmes to date and has injected grants of between £500 and £5,000 into a wide range of community projects.

Application forms are available from www.awardsforall.org.uk or by phone on 0845 4102030.