WIREDGOV

Additional support is being made available to East Ayrshire’s most vulnerable families, thanks to £294,906 of funding announced yesterday by the Big Lottery Fund.

Home Start East Ayrshire receives the award in the week when the Big Lottery Fund Scotland Committee will visit the area to learn more about the impact of its funding before holding its monthly decision making meeting in Shortlees Community Centre in Kilmarnock.

Announcing the award ahead of the two day visit, Big Lottery Fund, Scotland Chair, Maureen McGinn, said: “Our award to Home Start East Ayrshire will help to build a better and brighter future for many local families across East Ayrshire. In total we have awarded over £26 million to projects across the region over the last 20 years, which are supporting those people and communities in greatest need.

“It is extremely important for the Big Lottery Fund Scotland Committee to see firsthand the difference made by our funding across Scotland. I’m delighted that we are visiting East Ayrshire to make our next set of funding decisions and to about the impact of our funding at a local level.”

Celebrating its £294,906 award, Home-Start East Ayrshire will now be able to support more parents and children who are experiencing a range of issues, including, isolation, poverty, mental health issues, addiction issues or domestic violence.

On Wednesday 20th May the Big Lottery Fund Scotland Committee will visit four of the biggest projects it funds in East Ayrshire before hosting an afternoon event at the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock where it will share plans for its new funding portfolio to be launched at the end of the year. This will be followed on Thursday 21st May by its monthly decision making committee.

The committee will visit the following four projects:

• Catrine Community Trust, has received funding for a community renewable project and to establish a local community garden
• Addaction, based in Kilmarnock, has received Big Lottery funding to support a better quality of life for individuals moving on from substance misuse issues 
• My Time Active, a social enterprise, based in Kilmarnock, is using its funding to deliver healthy weight programmes and lifestyle initiatives for children and young people 
• Faith in Community Scotland has been supporting ex prisoners to move onto more positive destination upon their release thanks to its Big Lottery Fund award

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 0141 242 1451
Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Twitter: @BIGScotland #biglf 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundScotland

Notes to editors

• The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes. 
• Since June 2004 we have awarded over £6.5billion to projects that make a difference to people and communities in need, from early years intervention to commemorative travel funding for World War Two veterans.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £32 billion has been raised and more than 450,000 grants awarded.