Delight for Mid Ulster groups with £61,000 of lottery funding

The Big Lottery Fund said children, young people and women will benefit from the funding allocation.

St Malachy’s GAC, Castledawson, will receive £10,000 which will be used to build a dedicated health and wellbeing centre for use by the community.

Castledawson Primary is also receiving £10,000 to provide after school and evening activities for the children and the local community to improve their ICT skills.

Nearby St Patrick’s Primary School at Loup will get the same amount towards a modular room for use out of class time.

Pomeroy Afterschool Management Committee gets £7,975 for after school care for 94 children including 16 with special needs to create an outdoor play area and sensory garden.

Tobermore Village Hall Development Association gets £9,840 to make improvements to the local Orange Hall so more activities can take place.

St Colm’s Ballinascreen GAA Club, based in Draperstown, offers weekly fitness and coaching sessions and provides a meeting space for local groups.

It receives £7,926 to make improvements to the hall so it can be used for a wider variety of community activities.

Traad & Ballyronan/Ballinderry Development Association Company Ltd receives a grant of £5,646 to enable it to continue a range of community activities, including staging a play with local actors and volunteers to bring people together and increase community spirit.

Joanne McDowell, Big Lottery Fund NI Director, said: “The Big Lottery Fund’s NI Awards for All programme funds health, education, environment and community projects that help people bring about positive change in their lives, improve health and well-being, develop skills and create safer communities.

“The application process is simple and accessible and shall remain so, making it easy for applicants to successfully apply for small pots of funding that can have a big impact.”