A record 21 local good causes have been successful in obtaining a small grant award from the Torbay Lottery Small Grants Fund for 2020/2021.

This year the £11,000 raised through ticket sales from the Torbay Lottery was match funded by the Council, meaning £22,000 was available to help support causes who had been impacted by COVID-19.

The lucky organisations to benefits from a share of the £22,000 are; Youth Genesis (£800), All Saints Babbacombe School (£800), Turning Heads (£1,100), Life Education Wessex (£1,000), Pilgrim Heritage Sailing Foundation (£600), Purple Angel Dementia Awareness Devon (£600), HealthScape CIC (£1,000), PPT Arts & Events CIC (£700), The Thrive Project (£1,000), Torbay National Coastwatch Institution (£600), Friends of Clennon Lakes (£1,805), Curledge Street Academy (£1,100), Torbay Hospital Radio (£900), Taleblazers CIC (£800), Friends of Oldway (£2,000), Libraries Unlimited South West (£1,000), 11th Torbay (Barton) Sea Scouts (£600), Torbay Youth Trust (£1,995), Friends of South Devon College Students (£1,300), PATH Torbay (£1,200) and Torbay Eating Disorder Support Group (£1,100).

Anne-Marie Bond, Chief Executive of Torbay Council and Member of the Small Grants Fund Panel, said; “The Torbay Lottery continues to be a great initiative and we are so pleased to be able to support so many local good causes and community groups in this way. Enabling us to help our community, where we can, is particularly important during these difficult times when groups may be working with less staff and volunteers due to COVID-19.

“We have recently seen a slight increase in the number of tickets sold despite COVID-19 which demonstrates how much people care about our communities. We want to continue to empower communities to develop and help themselves and the Torbay Lottery is one of the ways we are actively supporting this”.

The Torbay Lottery is a Council initiative, empowering local groups to generate vital funds in a fun and effective way, while enabling players to support the causes they care about the most.

Applications are not currently being accepted for the Small Grants Funds; the application window will reopen in early 2022. However, local good causes are still able to sign up and raise funds for their organisation. Further information can be found at: www.torbaylottery.co.uk/good-causes

Since its launch in 2017, 127 local causes have signed up and the Torbay Lottery has raised over £133,800. There are currently 610 players signed up to the Torbay Lottery and 1131 tickets in play.

Draws take place every Saturday night. To be in with a chance to scoop up to £25,000, go to www.torbaylottery.co.uk and sign up today.

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