TV spotlight shines on Greenlight Gateway in wrestle for £60k Lottery winnings

And a range of community projects across Northern Ireland, including Greenlight Gateway’s Space 2 Grow Project in Ballycastle have a chance to win a £60,000 grant to make a lasting difference in their area.

Ann McILroy, Director of Greenlight Gateway said: “The excitement is already building among all our staff and trainees. For many of our folk with learning disabilities this is a wonderful chance to show how much they love their jobs and place of work and show the effort they have already put into Space 2 Grow. If we are successful we hope to have new community allotments, a country kitchen coffee shop and training room so we can all learn to cook what we grow and a fresh air fitness gym, open to all. “A special feature will be our jubilee dream garden as we create a special place for remembering and also expressing our shared dreams for the next sixty years. All of this is being created in an unused and neglected piece of land in Ballycastle that will be transformed if we are successful. Of course all of this will depend on people picking up their phones on the 28th and making a call that will make a big difference.”

Each night two groups will make their bid for viewers’ support to take home up to £60,000, with the public voting by phone to decide who wins the prize. There are four £60,000 awards up for grabs in Northern Ireland – one award for each night, and a bonus award for the runner up who receives the most phone votes across the week.

This is the seventh year that the Big Lottery Fund and UTV have given the public the chance to choose where the Lottery good cause cash goes in their region. This year groups were asked to develop projects that really capture the public’s imagination and inspire local people to make a lasting difference in their area.

Voting numbers will be available on the day the projects are due to appear on UTV with Telephone voting lines opening at 9am on each day and winners announced the following day. In the meantime you can find out about the project on: http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/utv/space-to-grow

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund’s NI Chair, said: “The innovative projects up for the public vote this year in Northern Ireland are inspiring communities to tackle a local problem or make a lasting change to the lives of people in their area. We look forward to seeing a hotly contested competition where the public will be able to choose which projects take home these special grants. I encourage everyone to tune into UTV and vote for your favourite project – every vote counts!”

Michael Wilson, Managing Director UTV Television, said:”UTV and the Big Lottery Fund have established a strong working relationship and once again we are delighted to be associated with The People’s Millions. Four projects will be awarded up to £60,000 each for their initiative which is a fantastic achievement for all concerned. We look forward to featuring each of the nominees on UTV Live in June 2011.”

For Greenlight Gateway, Tuesday 28th June is V Day (Voting Day), when their fantastic project will feature on the UTV evening news. We will be keeping all our readers up to date with their progress and encourage you take the opportunity to visit Space 2 Grow. We will all be rooting for them and wishing all these tremendous projects every success.