Our Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund has committed more than £4 million of National Lottery funding to more than 650 organisations since its launch in January.
The fund, which is still open, was created to mark and help celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year by supporting projects that bring a community together and provide opportunities for people who may be less physically active.
Now, as of the start of the Platinum Jubilee Weekend celebrations, the fund has allocated £4,214,865 between 652 community sport and physical activity organisations across England.
Since January, organisations have been able to apply for awards of up to £10,000 to help inactive people get active, or less active people become more active.
The fund has been focussed on projects working with people in areas of disadvantage, that add value to their local community and that work collaboratively with other groups to maximise their impact.
To mark the celebratory weekend, we’re highlighting some of the projects to have received funding from us this year.
How's the money being spent?
Lancashire Youth Challenge – £10,000
Lancashire Youth Challenge nurtures, supports, and challenges young people living in North Lancashire to achieve personal success and help transform their lives.
Their ethos is that this can be achieved by every young person when given an equitable opportunity, meaningful encouragement and, most importantly, access to high-quality activities.
They’ve developed a partnership with Stanleys Community Centre and Bay Leadership Academy to support vulnerable people living in Morecambe.
In 2022 Lancashire Youth Challenge have set about supporting a minimum of 30 vulnerable young people to participate in the Morecambe Bay Triathlon – an 81-mile bike ride, an eight-mile hike and an 11-mile swim held across three weekends in July.
Their training began in March and consists of:
- fitness, aerobic and core strength workshops
- swimming sessions
- healthy eating and cooking workshops
- bicycle maintenance workshops
- bicycle road safety workshops
- cycle trips
These activities are aimed at giving the vulnerable young people not just a physical purpose, but also life skills that are leading to:
- an increased level of confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, and self-efficacy
- a sense of achievement and personal success
- an increased interest in being more physically active
- an increased willingness to meet new people, make new connections and be part of a team
- an increased ability to manage their emotional and physical wellbeing
- an increased understanding of healthy eating and the positive effects on mental health
- a better understanding of how to prepare and produce healthy meals.
Mayfield Cricket Club – £4,293
Mayfield Cricket Club (CC) is situated in Clayton, a rural parish outside of Bradford that has limited public transport links, community facilities and shops, and is within the 15% most deprived areas in England.
Over the last year, Mayfield Cricket Club has supported more than 60 of Clayton’s most vulnerable families, many of whom have either suffered with the cost of living increases and their income doesn’t stretch to cover the basics of food and bills.
With no food bank in the parish, volunteers created a community allotment at the rear of the Mayfield CC clubhouse – growing food for the most vulnerable and in-need residents.
And after discussions with residents and users of the club, they opened their clubhouse as a community hub, extended their kitchen, added a disabled toilet and installed a baby changing facility.
The community hub is run from 10am-6pm on a Monday by a community liaison officer to help tackle loneliness and, having partnered with the local medical centre, Hollyns Health & Wellbeing, they’re now putting on an exercise and movement class for an hour on Mondays and Wednesdays.
With an initial plan to run the classes for 22 weeks, the award has paid for the instructor and equipment and leaflets to be distributed locally.
After the initial period, it’s hoped there will be enough interest and desire to continue, that participants will be willing to pay a small fee to keep the class going and provide year-round physical activity.
Central Cheshire buddy scheme – £9,800
The project is supporting disabled children and young people to re-engage with physical activity through a number of different activities, for 10 sessions per activity.
The activities include:
- swimming
- boxing
- football
- canoeing.
The scheme is using their own 17-seater mini-bus to transport the disabled children and young people to/from venues, with support provided by the scheme’s own staff and volunteers.