Turning Point Cymru’s Carmarthenshire Life Skills Project needs your vote this week as it goes head to head with other Lottery-funded projects from across the UK in the semi-finals of The National Lottery Awards 2010.
The National Lottery Awards are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects, and the Carmarthenshire Life Skills Project is the only Welsh organisation in the Best Health Project category, in association with iVillage.co.uk. All the projects in the running have already received Lottery funding and the Awards celebrate how they have put that money to good use. People in Carmarthenshire are being urged to show their support by casting a vote to help the project make it through to the final stage.
The winning project in each of the seven categories will receive national recognition on a star-studded BBC 1 TV show later this year and, in addition to the Lottery funding they have already been awarded, will receive a £2,000 cash prize1 to spend on their project.
Turning Point Cymru’s Carmarthenshire Life Skills Project (CLSP) supports people who are motivated and committed to overcoming their chronic alcohol problems and want to turn their lives around. Through life skills workshops, anger management, training and employment sessions and advice, staff help CLSP members to bridge the gap between leaving detox services and re-entering the community. Lottery funding has meant the group has been able to develop its services by employing trained staff and has also paid for ‘Project Tyfu’, a horticultural programme that encourages people to get out in the fresh air, grow their own vegetables and make healthy lifestyle choices.
Mr Andrew Soroka, Service Manager at the Carmarthenshire Life Skills Project, says: “Without The National Lottery this service would never have been possible and people in Carmarthenshire would not be able to access the aftercare support that they so desperately need to rebuild their lives after recovering from alcohol addictions. We are delighted to have reached the semi-finals of The National Lottery Awards. We’re really hoping the public gets behind us and votes as it would be fantastic to get national recognition for the quality work that we do.”
This year’s National Lottery Awards are supported by actress Fay Ripley, who attended last year’s Awards ceremony, which was broadcast on BBC1. She says: “Lottery players raise £25 million every week, which funds projects and organisations that are making a real difference to people and communities across Wales and the rest of the UK. The National Lottery Awards recognise the amazing talent and hard work of the people involved in running Lottery-funded projects, so please get behind your local project and vote to give them your support.”
About The National Lottery Awards
The National Lottery Awards recognise the difference that Lottery-funded projects – both big and small – make to local communities, and celebrate the achievements of the people behind them. The Awards have seven categories – each reflecting an area of Lottery funding: sport; heritage; arts; environment; education; health (in association with iVillage.co.uk) and voluntary/charity (in association with Woman magazine).
Voting for the semi-finals starts at 9am on Tuesday 1 June and ends at midday on Friday 18 June. To cast a vote for the Carmarthenshire Life Skills Project call
0844 686 9317 or log on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards
The three projects in each category with the highest number of votes will go through to the final round of public voting in July.
