Suffolk Parenting Project Makes it 500,000 National Lottery Grants Nationwide

Press release – To be issued on Thursday 3 November 2016

Half a million National Lottery grants have now been awarded across the UK since The National Lottery began in 1994, the Government announced today.

The 500,000th National Lottery grant, £9,950, is going to Ipswich 4 Family, a voluntary organisation which provides family mentors to parents who need a little extra support bringing up their children.

The organisation was set up by a group of local churches, and works with local parents, from all sections of the community, on referral from social care, Early Help teams and schools. The National Lottery grant will help to train more volunteers to offer friendship, and practical and emotional support to parents.

Dot Cordle, Ipswich 4 Family Chair of Trustees, is delighted that National Lottery funding will enable the project to help more parents by extending its family mentoring work:

“Life can be lonely and exhausting; parents can feel like they have nowhere to turn. Ipswich 4 Family is a group of trained people who will listen, encourage and support parents to help make their lives better.”

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley, visited the organisation today to meet its Trustees, co-ordinators, volunteers and local families who could benefit from their work.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley MP, whose Department is responsible for The National Lottery, said:

“The 500,000th Lottery grant is a significant milestone, and the latest example of how the proceeds from people buying tickets has helped transform lives and support local communities across the country.

"The Lottery has improved sporting facilities, backed voluntary organisations, supported our culture and heritage sites and helped our elite athletes shine in Rio.

“Most grants are for less than £10,000 - comparatively small sums of money that are making a big difference in communities across the country.”

National Lottery funded Paralympian Lauren Steadman joined the Secretary of State at Ipswich 4 Family.

Silver medallist Lauren, who competes in both paratriathlon and swimming, said:

“It has been wonderful to celebrate The National Lottery reaching this funding milestone today. I am grateful that National Lottery funding has made my dreams come true. Without it there’s no way I would have won a medal in Rio. National Lottery money is important to so many sections of society; from supporting arts, sport and heritage projects to helping community groups like this thrive.”

Notes to editors

On average, National Lottery players raise £36 million for arts, sport, heritage and community projects across the UK every week by playing National Lottery games.

Money raised by National Lottery players is distributed by 12 National Lottery distributors:

Arts Council England, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, British Film Institute (BFI), The Big Lottery Fund, Creative Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland, SportScotland, Sport Wales, UK Sport.

The Big Lottery Fund is the National Lottery distributor responsible for awarding £9,950 to Ipswich 4 Family.

Camelot UK Lotteries Limited is the licensed operator of The National Lottery. National Lottery games include Lotto, EuroMillions and the GameStore range of Scratchcards and online Instant Win Games.

The National Lottery has so far given away over £59 billion and more than 4,250 millionaires or multi-millionaires.

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For more information contact Natasha Brown Natasha.brown@lotterygoodcauses.org.uk 07515108495