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Newtownbutler playgroup gets £10,000 from Awards for All
21/02/2008
Three local groups are sharing in a lottery windfall announced this week by Awards For All.
The National Lottery's small grants scheme is awarding nearly £30,000 to the organisations as part of a grants rollout of nearly £442,000 to 64 groups across Northern Ireland.
Newtownbutler Playgroup is receiving £10,000 towards equipment, including a new entrance security system, photocopier and conversion of loft space for storage.
"There will even be money left over to take the children on some trips," said Western Area Childcare Support Worker, Paula Drumm. A playgroup like this is especially important in a rural village like Newtownbutler - all of our 26 places are filled."
Over the last few years, Teresa Fitzpatrick's family have taken up six of those places, so she was in the perfect position to comment.
"By the time my twins go into P1, all our children will have been through the play school," she explained. "The twins are there at the moment and just love it. It provides a great service for the community, and it's a credit to the girls who run it, they are just so full of life. The children love it, there's a crying match if they have to stay home for a day!
"And they learn so much from it too that it helps them cope with primary school, even just things like being able to sit and listen to the teacher."
The Awards for All programme is supported by Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport Northern Ireland. Programme Manager, Punam McGookin said it continued to make a huge impact in local communities.
"It is clear that there is a real need for such funding, and that smaller projects can bring positive changes to the lives of local people. The popularity of Awards for All is growing. Its application process is user friendly and shall remain so, with funding continuing to favour smaller groups".
He said the accessibility of the programme had been key to its success in Northern Ireland.
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