Helping spread the Christmas spirit and ease the burden on families across the borough, Voluntary Services Lewisham (VSL) are using a 10,000 grant from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, to provide food, toys, supermarket vouchers and a Christmas Eve meal to vulnerable individuals and families in the community.
VSL is just one of more than 320 charities and community groups across London to have been awarded a share of almost 10 million of National Lottery funding in the past quarter*.
For the last 50 years VSL have been running the Christmas Project and supporting thousands of people in the borough. However, given the huge financial impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the lives of many people across the UK, the support from groups like VSL has never been more important to communities. Last year, the Christmas Project reached almost 3,000 vulnerable children, adults and older people in Lewisham, an increase of around 500 individuals on the previous year.
Nadia Payne, Programme Operations Manager at Voluntary Services Lewisham, said: There has been a lot of deprivation in Lewisham for many years and the pandemic has made life even tougher for a lot of people. With Lewisham being a Borough of Sanctuary, we expect there will be an even higher demand for the project than usual.
Thanks to National Lottery players, this funding has enabled us to bring in additional resources to run the project and allows us to accept all referrals that come through, so we can reach more children and vulnerable people in Lewisham.
This funding announcement comes shortly after The National Lottery Community Fund released a new report, Putting Communities First, which sets out the impact National Lottery funding has had on communities across the UK over the last five years.
The report shows that over the last three years more than half of National Lottery funding - totalling 568 million - has gone to the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in England. On average 5.2 million people across the country a year were supported by National Lottery-funded projects, with 97% of grant holders reporting improvements in their participants' mental health, self-esteem and social contact.
VSL are distributing gifts and hampers for the Christmas Project up until the 21 December and will be working non-stop, with the help of local volunteers and the Lewisham Salvation Army, to ensure that the vulnerable members of the community receive a gift this Christmas. The funding is being used to provide presents for children, hampers to vulnerable older people and supermarket vouchers to families in need of some extra support during the holidays. The group will also be delivering a Christmas lunch cooked with the Lewisham Salvation Army on the 23 December suitable for reheating, with some additional Christmas treats, to 100 residents so that everyone has access to a warm, nutritious meal on Christmas Day.
There are a lot of kids who without this service wouldn't be receiving any presents this Christmas, and for those families this support is so important. For the older people in the community we support, they appreciate the fact that someone is thinking of them and looking out for them. We work with people who are quite isolated, so receiving something and feeling part of the community is so important, added Nadia.
Helen Bushell, Senior Head of Regional Funding for London, South East and East of England at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: Thanks to National Lottery players, this vital funding will have a huge impact on people's lives across Lewisham. This last year has been incredibly challenging for communities and we applaud the volunteers and groups that have been a lifeline to so many. As we all look to the future, we're excited to see how local groups will use this funding to further support their communities to prosper and thrive.
During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, The National Lottery Community Fund distributed almost 1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK.
To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
* These figures are for funding awarded from 11 September - 19 November 2021.
About The National Lottery Community Fund
We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK - we support people and communities to prosper and thrive.
We're proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.
Our funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people's lives. We support projects focussed on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach NET Zero by 2050.
Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We're privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.
National Lottery players raise over 30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, 43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects - 255 projects per postcode area.