Areas Compete for People's Millions on UTV

• National Lottery

Organisations across Northern Ireland are gearing up for the latest round of voting for people's millions. Eight Northern Ireland projects will compete in pairs on separate nights on UTV for the public vote to win £50,000.

Up to £250,000 of Big Lottery funding is up for grabs for five community groups across Northern Ireland when the contest hits UTV screens between the 24th and 28th November. Two projects will be screened every night in a head to head battle to win public votes. UTV viewers will vote by phone for the project they think should win the Lottery cash.

This is the fourth year the Big Lottery Fund and UTV have teamed up to bring local viewers the People’s Millions, giving the public a real say on where lottery funding will go to benefit their community.

Each night (Monday to Thursday) two good cause groups will battle it out and at the end of the week four projects will have won a slice of lottery good cause cash. The best runner-up that chalks up the most phone votes will also win a grant to be the fifth winner, announced on Friday, November 28.

A range of community projects across Northern Ireland including Fermanagh, Derry, Belfast, Maghera and Armagh are hoping to win a grant of £50,000 to make major improvements to their local environment.

The eight Northern Ireland projects up for the vote are:

Voting 24th November 2008

• Royal National Institute of the Blind: Access Share

Royal National Institute of the Blind would use the grant to install a REACT navigational system at the Share Holiday Village in Fermanagh which would will benefit 600 blind and partially sighted people. REACT is an easy to use talking sign system which helps people with sight loss find their way around safely and with greater independence.

or

• Maydown Community Association: Regeneration of Maydown Play park

Maydown Community Association would use the grant to create a recreational space, which would provide a community focus and benefit local residents of all ages.

Voting 25 November 2008

• Foyle Womens Aid: Foyle Secret Garden

Foyle Women’s Aid would use the grant to transform an area of its garden into a sensory garden, wilderness area, vegetable patch and an oasis garden to create a therapeutic environment for the women and children that use have suffered from domestic violence.

or

• Women's Tec: Lock, Stock & Spuds in a Barrel

Women’s Tec would use the grant to train up to 50 women to allow them to offer services such as joinery and organic gardening on a voluntary basis to up to vulnerable people in North Belfast.

Voting 26 November 2008

• St Bernadette's Primary School: Better Play in Whiterock

St Bernadette’s Primary School would use the grant to develop an under-utilised space between the school and nursery into a play area that will provide 250 children in the Whiterock area of West Belfast.

or

• Gran Tot's Playgroup: Building our Children’s Future

Gran Tot’s Play Group would use the grant to provide a fit for purpose playgroup/nursery school building and stimulating outdoor play area and sensory garden in the Swatragh area of Maghera.

Voting 27 November 2008

• Belmont Pre-school Playgroup: Belmont Early Years Centre

Belmont pre-School Playgroup would use the grant to buy a new building to provide quality pre-school support for local families in the east Belfast area.

or

• LA Project

The LA Project would use the grant to transform an area of wasteland into a community base by buying a portacabin to host a series of activities for local people in two estates in Armagh.

 

www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_peoples_millions