£25,000 charity lottery award

This £25,000 ‘Impact Award' has been awarded by the charity lottery to encourage the supported charities to improve the practice of impact assessment, helping charities grow, develop and assess their own impact on society.

The Canal & River Trust has so far received an amazing £450,000 from players of the People's Postcode Lottery. Examples of projects supported include:

• Community Roots – two community leaders are working across Huddersfield, Rochdale and Birmingham to deliver environmental and community engagement programmes across the Rochdale Canal, Huddersfield Narrow Canal and Birmingham Heartlands Linear Park.
• National Hedgerow Campaign – 20 volunteer leaders were recruited and 50 additional volunteers to support hedge laying and improvement projects which has included 10 hedge laying training events
• Pilot Sport Participation Programme – by working with Young Carers, Scouts and disadvantaged communities, 500 people have participated for free in canal side sport such as canoeing, cycling, running and paddle boarding
• Stratford to Stratford – an ambitious youth arts programme saw 25 disadvantaged young people aged 16-25 years old learn all about the wonders of the canals combined with Shakespeare, culminating in a performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at the Stratford River Festival.
• Restoration of Tringford Pumping Station – a project to repair the pump and the building housing it to create a visitor discovery centre and engage with the local community, schools and visitors to learn more about the area.

Wendy Hawk, corporate partnerships manager for the Canal & River Trust said: “These fantastic projects have reached many corners of our waterways thanks to players of the People's Postcode Lottery. They've helped deliver a whole range of environmental enhancements and engaged many hundreds of people with our wonderful waterways.

"We know these projects have had a huge impact on people, as they have had to the Trust, but this additional award will help us better evaluate and demonstrate more clearly the impact made to our communities.”

Clara Govier, Head of Charities at People's Postcode Lottery, said: “It is fantastic news that players are able to support these wonderful charities with an extra £25,000 each, and an amazing £1.575 million being awarded overall. We are very proud that our players can continue to support the development of these fantastic causes.”

In the 10 years since the People's Postcode Lottery's first ever draw, it has created thousands of winners and provided vital funding for numerous charities across Great Britain and internationally. With 27.5% awarded to charities from every £2 ticket, its players have raised more than £82 million.