Home Start Ceredigion is celebrating the announcement of half a million pound grant (£500,00) raised thanks to National Lottery players. They will be helping new mums like Victoria who told us the group helped her “loneliness melt away”. We are also announcing three grants of around £10,000 each to three other Ceredigion groups, read on to find out more.
Victoria, a new mum who has been supported by Home-Start Ceredigion, said: “Moving to Wales with my husband felt like a dream come true. Then baby Jake arrived, and everything changed. Naturally we were delighted with him, but once he was born the reality of being four hours away from family and friends hit home. I was on maternity leave and with time on my hands, started to feel quite isolated. I didn’t know anyone nearby and realised how much I missed my family. I felt like I didn’t quite know what I was doing. I needed human contact and Jake needed to see other children.
“Attending Home-Start Ceredigion’s weekly playgroup in the village pre-lockdown made me feel part of the community. The loneliness I felt started to melt away. Chatting to other local families lifted my mood massively. Soon the groups became the highlight of my week. Attending them gave me something to get dressed for. The area we live in is very Welsh speaking. At the play group Jake would hear Welsh songs and stories. I wasn’t made to feel left out at all, and it was lovely to expose Jake to the Welsh language.”
Home-Start Ceredigion’s half a million pound grant will allow them to offer support to provide a safe environment for families to gain confidence in social situations, online services to maintain regular contact with families and support to help children start their school life. Volunteer home-visits and fast response support will respond to and support families in crisis.
Three other Ceredigion groups are also benefitting from grants this month:
Llys Pedr Social Club will use £10,000 to organise a programme of events and activities at their sheltered housing scheme, to allow the residents to socialise following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mair Jones, Chair of the Club, said: “We are all so excited to receive this support. Like other elderly tenants, we have had a tough few years with Covid restrictions. Not seeing friends and family. Not being able to socialise with our neighbours in the scheme made many of us feel lonely and isolated. This National Lottery Community Fund grant will kick start The Llys Pedr Social Club for our community. With the help of Tess, our Scheme Co-ordinator, we can now plan ahead and arrange lots of activities and social events which will lift everyone’s spirits.”
Penparcau Community Forum Ltd’s vision is to create a vibrant, inclusive community where people can feel safe and proud to be living or working within the village. They will use their £9,977 grant to provide a daily support service that benefits the most vulnerable in their community by supplying them with essential items during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another project receiving funding is Ysgoldy Community Group in Ceredigion who will use £10,000 to build a wall to create a safe off-road parking area for their community hall in Cwmystwyth so that more people can access activities held at the hall.
John Rose, Wales Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We are delighted to support such a wide variety of projects that reach a diverse array of communities. The Fund is dedicated to supporting project that bring people together to support communities to prosper and thrive. These projects are no exception. National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK”
These projects are just some of 104 projects awarded across Wales in the past month totalling £4,056,838 of funding raised by National Lottery players.
