140203 Volunteers make a difference

Garnant Family Centre in Carmarthenshire is awarded £48,854 over two years to fund a part-time co-ordinator to provide an open door centre for pre-school age children and their parents on the Maes y Beddol estate in Garnant.

The Centre will fully open as soon as the co-ordinator is in place and will offer games, activities and a network of support for parents, carers and their children on a 'come and go' basis, between 9.30am and 2.30pm Monday to Friday.

Plant Dewi Project Worker Catherine James explains: "We have been listening to the needs of parents and their children and the Centre aims to offer a fun, safe and stimulating environment where adults can get together and children can play, make friends and learn."

At the Centre, children will be able to paint, draw, use a touch screen computer, play in sandpits and ball pools and enjoy indoor and outdoor games, singing, dancing.

Adults stay with their children and can take advantage of a range of courses on offer for them including aromatherapy, baby massage and computing.

The Centre will also be the ideal place for people to get to know and support each other and will provide a base for other organisations to use to provide information, advice and practical help to the community.

"The Centre wouldn't have come about without the efforts of many people in the local area and this award means we can now make it a reality for the community. We are very excited about it," added Catherine.

Community Service Volunteers (CSV) will be able to recruit more over 50s to be placed alongside children in schools across Wales, as part of an expanding numeracy and literacy project, thanks to an award of £167,670.

The new volunteers of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) will follow in the footsteps of the 400 or so older volunteers in various parts of Wales who currently read with children and help them with their maths.

RSVP's Development Manager for Wales, Martyn Pengilley, is delighted that the project, which has successfully operated in Cardiff for ten years, will be able to grow: "This project is very successful. It means that an older person can bring their experience, and perhaps most importantly, time, into the classroom to support children in their basic skills learning.

"Children have been shown to make significant improvements when they are given more individual attention and teachers have appreciated having another adult in the classroom to support them in their work.

"Thanks to this award we will now be able to take the project into new areas and initially we will build on the project in other parts of South Wales and North East Wales."

The money, over three years will partly fund new posts - one full time and one part time Schools Project Co-ordinator.

Elsewhere, Caerphilly County Borough Citizens Advice Bureau, based in Bargoed, is celebrating after receiving £147,384 to increase its numbers of volunteers and the services they provide.

Newport Women's Aid Limited gets £100,455 to provide support and activities for children who have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse while in Rhonnda Cynon Taff, Merthyr and the Valleys Mind is awarded £162,588 to develop a mental health drop-in in Pontypridd to include self-help groups, volunteering opportunities and a training programme.

The Bangladesh Welfare Association will be able to provide a drop in centre and advice and support to members of the Bangladeshi community in Swansea Bay as well as encouraging people to take part in community cultural events, thanks to an award of £50,728 while also in Swansea the Citizens Advice Bureau gets £77,573 to provide outreach advice to help people access welfare benefits.

Wales-wide Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin gets £59,270 for an interactive bi-lingual CD-rom package for the under 5s to promote safety and accident prevention and the Welsh Association of Youth Clubs receives £162,169 to expand and develop Youth Achievement Awards across Wales.

In total more than £139 million has been distributed to voluntary groups by the Community Fund in Wales to tackle poverty and promote community involvement.

Groups seeking application forms or further information should visit the "Funding your project" section of the website or call 0845 7919 191 (English) or 0845 7273 273 (Welsh)

Notes for Editors

1. The Community Fund is the operating name of the National Lottery Charities Board, an independent body set up by Parliament to distribute funds to support charitable, benevolent and philanthropic organisations. There are 17 Board members, including the Chair. Decisions on grants are made by the members in grant-making committees for Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole.

2. The Community Fund's grants programmes are awarded by the Wales Committee. Members in Wales are Jeff Carroll (Chair) and Elisabeth Watkins. Co-opted Members to the Committee are Margaret Dennis, Jenny Lewis and Dr Glyn Williams.

3. The Fund's main aim is to give grants mainly to groups who help those at greatest disadvantage and also to improve the quality of life in the community.

4. Since October 1995, the Community Fund, through its grants programmes, has distributed over £139 million to groups across Wales

5. Full lists of Community Fund's grants are published in the "What we've funded" section of the website and full lists of all Lottery distributors grants are listed at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk.

	14 February 2003 Volunteers make a difference
	THIRTEEN groups in Wales share a total of £1,229,167 in the latest Grants for large projects and Grants for medium-sized projects announced by the Community Fund in Wales. Garnant Family Centre in Carmarthenshire is awarded £48,854 over two years to fund a part-time co-ordinator to provide an open door centre for pre-school age children and their parents on the Maes y Beddol estate in Garnant. The Centre will fully open as soon as the co-ordinator is in place and will offer games, activities and a network of support for parents, carers and their children on a 'come and go' basis, between 9.30am and 2.30pm Monday to Friday. Plant Dewi Project Worker Catherine James explains: "We have been listening to the needs of parents and their children and the Centre aims to offer a fun, safe and stimulating environment where adults can get together and children can play, make friends and learn." At the Centre, children will be able to paint, draw, use a touch screen computer, play in sandpits and ball pools and enjoy indoor and outdoor games, singing, dancing. Adults stay with their children and can take advantage of a range of courses on offer for them including aromatherapy, baby massage and computing. The Centre will also be the ideal place for people to get to know and support each other and will provide a base for other organisations to use to provide information, advice and practical help to the community. "The Centre wouldn't have come about without the efforts of many people in the local area and this award means we can now make it a reality for the community. We are very excited about it," added Catherine. Community Service Volunteers (CSV) will be able to recruit more over 50s to be placed alongside children in schools across Wales, as part of an expanding numeracy and literacy project, thanks to an award of £167,670. The new volunteers of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) will follow in the footsteps of the 400 or so older volunteers in various parts of Wales who currently read with children and help them with their maths. RSVP's Development Manager for Wales, Martyn Pengilley, is delighted that the project, which has successfully operated in Cardiff for ten years, will be able to grow: "This project is very successful. It means that an older person can bring their experience, and perhaps most importantly, time, into the classroom to support children in their basic skills learning. "Children have been shown to make significant improvements when they are given more individual attention and teachers have appreciated having another adult in the classroom to support them in their work. "Thanks to this award we will now be able to take the project into new areas and initially we will build on the project in other parts of South Wales and North East Wales." The money, over three years will partly fund new posts - one full time and one part time Schools Project Co-ordinator. Elsewhere, Caerphilly County Borough Citizens Advice Bureau, based in Bargoed, is celebrating after receiving £147,384 to increase its numbers of volunteers and the services they provide. Newport Women's Aid Limited gets £100,455 to provide support and activities for children who have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse while in Rhonnda Cynon Taff, Merthyr and the Valleys Mind is awarded £162,588 to develop a mental health drop-in in Pontypridd to include self-help groups, volunteering opportunities and a training programme. The Bangladesh Welfare Association will be able to provide a drop in centre and advice and support to members of the Bangladeshi community in Swansea Bay as well as encouraging people to take part in community cultural events, thanks to an award of £50,728 while also in Swansea the Citizens Advice Bureau gets £77,573 to provide outreach advice to help people access welfare benefits. Wales-wide Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin gets £59,270 for an interactive bi-lingual CD-rom package for the under 5s to promote safety and accident prevention and the Welsh Association of Youth Clubs receives £162,169 to expand and develop Youth Achievement Awards across Wales. In total more than £139 million has been distributed to voluntary groups by the Community Fund in Wales to tackle poverty and promote community involvement. Groups seeking application forms or further information should visit the "Funding your project" section of the website or call 0845 7919 191 (English) or 0845 7273 273 (Welsh) Notes for Editors 1. The Community Fund is the operating name of the National Lottery Charities Board, an independent body set up by Parliament to distribute funds to support charitable, benevolent and philanthropic organisations. There are 17 Board members, including the Chair. Decisions on grants are made by the members in grant-making committees for Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole. 2. The Community Fund's grants programmes are awarded by the Wales Committee. Members in Wales are Jeff Carroll (Chair) and Elisabeth Watkins. Co-opted Members to the Committee are Margaret Dennis, Jenny Lewis and Dr Glyn Williams. 3. The Fund's main aim is to give grants mainly to groups who help those at greatest disadvantage and also to improve the quality of life in the community. 4. Since October 1995, the Community Fund, through its grants programmes, has distributed over £139 million to groups across Wales 5. Full lists of Community Fund's grants are published in the "What we've funded" section of the website and full lists of all Lottery distributors grants are listed at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk.		For media enquiries or group contact numbers please call Debbie on 01352 700208 or 07968 113772.