By Helen-Rose Owen, Big Lottery Fund NI

It’s been a busy week for #TeamNI of #TheBigWalk. We were totally thrilled that the walker for Northern Ireland, @Michael_Conlon, and the team stopped at some fantastic projects who received funding through

the National Lottery.

On Friday 18th May, The Big Walk team arrived in Belfast! Check out the photos from their very busy day here.

The team stopped at New Lodge and Duncairn Health Initiative (NLDCHP) during their walk in Belfast, who are funded by the Big Lottery Fund. NLDCHP were awarded £696,836 of money raised by National Lottery players for their project, Supporting Families North Belfast. Over five years, the group will work with families and children across North Belfast to improve their health – both physical and emotional.

By working with local health and wellbeing organisations, NLDCHP will teach children and their parents and carers about nutrition, physical activity and stress management. The project will boost children’s confidence and improve their resilience. Kids will be able to cope better when things get difficult, an important investment for their future mental health.

On Wednesday 23rd May, the Big Walk team visited The Escapists in Fermanagh. The Escapists are a group of women carers who come together to support each other through the ups and downs of caring for a loved one. The Escapists received £35,325 from the Big Lottery Fund in January last year for their project, Me Time. With this relatively small pot of money, they’ve developed a powerful programme that has a real and positive impact on the women it serves.

Have a look at some of the photos taken during the stop at https://www.facebook.com/TheBigLunchNorthernIreland/videos/2068621750062196/?t=0

Caring for a loved one can be a full time job and it can be hard for carers to take time off from their responsibilities. The Escapists offer that chance, giving the women some time away – even for just a couple of hours a week.

“Our aim is to support parents of children and adults with learning difficulties or to any unpaid carer with a heavy caring burden. We’re committed to improving the holistic wellbeing of carers and their loved ones, and supporting carers’ continued personal development,” explains Clare McGovern from the Escapists. “We give carers a chance to relax and meet other carers who are in the same boat. We understand each other! It gives the carers time to chat and have fun and have a cuppa.”

On Thursday 24th, Michael and the team had a very special assignment. He dropped in for a surprise visit to St Eoghan’s Primary School in Draperstown and presented them with a cheque for £10,000!

Watch their reaction to the news here https://www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundNI/videos/10155178812671572/?t=4

Paschal Diamond, Principal from St Eoghan’s Primary school said, ‘Getting funding from the National Lottery is fantastic news for our school. It will make such a difference to our outdoor learning space and will allow us to open the school up to become a hub of activity for everyone in the community.’

On Friday 25th, Big Walk team dropped in on an incredible project based in Ballymoney.

Compass Advocacy Network (CAN) are one of many projects funded by the Big Lottery Fund who work with young people with disabilities. CAN help to give young people the power to become self-advocates and gain valuable employment skills whilst they develop their self-esteem and confidence.

Janet Schofield, CEO of CAN, says: “Young people with a learning disability struggle when it comes to leaving school, leaving children’s services and moving into adult services – it’s a massive leap. CAN Pathways will provide a person centred approach to planning that transition by discovering the dreams and aspirations of the young person and the support they want and need to enable them to get the life they choose.”

All of this amazing work has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players. We at the Big Lottery Fund love to support projects that support people to realise their own dreams and ambitions.

Guest blog by Grainne McCloskey, NI Manager for The Eden Project

New research shows that only 58% of us in Northern Ireland sit down to Sunday lunch every week. Now Eden Project Communities is urging local communities to “Reclaim Sunday Lunch” and use it to bring communities closer together and tackle loneliness and isolation.

The research carried out online by YouGov Plc during February 2018 also shows:

• Over half of us (52%) in Northern Ireland sat down to Sunday lunch more often as a child than we do now
• 7% now have Sunday lunch less than once every two months, while 9% admit to never having Sunday lunch.

Despite this, many of us still recognise the benefits of communal eating with three quarters (74%) agreeing Sunday Lunch is about getting together with loved ones. 75% say that the food is the key ingredient for a successful Sunday lunch while 75% also say that the people we eat with are key.  Getting people together is one of the most effective ways of tackling the growing crisis around loneliness and social isolation. A recent study by The Co-op and the British Red Cross showed over 9 million adults in the UK of all ages – more than the population of London – are either always or often lonely.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 07-05-2015: A VE-Day themed Big Lunch, in conjunction with Belfast City Council, at the NI War Memorial in Belfast. Pictured at the event Liz Weir and Grainne .
Picture By: Arthur Allison.

That’s why Eden Project Communities is calling for all of us to reclaim Sunday Lunch and bring it back as a chance to get together – with who we want, when we want and eating and drinking whatever they fancy. Why not join millions of others across the UK and sit down to have lunch with your neighbours as part of The Big Lunch on Sunday 3rd June 2018, the UK’s biggest annual get together for neighbours. Order your free pack at www.thebiglunch.com.

Eden Project network member and Big Lunch advocate Liz Weir is passionate about the Big Lunch and its role in reviving community spirit. She will be hosting her third Big Lunch this June at her home Ballyeamon Barn, which is a writer’s retreat and hostel in Glenariff Forest.

“When I was a child the family gathered together for meals,” said Liz.” There was no TV in the house when I was growing up, and people would come round and entertain each other.

“I’m bringing those days back. Every weekend, people come from all over to gather in my house. We have tea and coffee and biscuits and old and young alike take it in turns to tell their stories and sing their songs. Sometimes they are folk tales, sometime ghost stories or recitations of poems.”

“Nowadays we share food and tales with people from several countries at our Big Lunch. The fact that people come together to prepare and share food from Poland, South Africa, Germany, Slovakia, Italy, USA, France warms my heart.”

The Big Lunch – an idea from The Eden Project made possible by The National Lottery – will be held this year on Sunday 3 June, aiming to beat last year’s record involvement of 9.3 million people across the UK. The annual event encourages people to get together with others in their neighbourhoods to share food and fun.

Julie Harrison, Chair of Big Lottery Fund Northern Ireland, said:
“Whether two people or two hundred, sitting down together to eat and talk is important for individual people, families and communities. This is why we are supporting the Big Lunch, which provides the perfect opportunity for people to build connections, spark friendships and lay the foundations that enable communities to thrive.”

Visit the Big Lunch website to order your free event pack and to find out more.

We have been asking staff from Big Lottery Fund and successful National Lottery funded projects for their top tips on applying for funding.

This blog shares the latest 5 top tips from our #BIGNIFunding campaign.  If you missed the start, you can catch up with a roundup of the first 10 tips.

#11   We fund constituted not-for-profit organisations, but they don’t need to be registered charities.

#12  We can’t process your application form if the name on the form is different from the name on the attachments you provide.

#13  Paul Johnston from Monkstown Boxing Club shares their approach to finding out about challenges and developing ideas for their application to our Empowering Young People programme.

#14  Find a funding source that suits your project idea.  This helps to make sure your project is truly people led. You should not develop your project to fit a specific programme.

#15  Successful grant applicant, Shiela Smyth, explains how The Right Key made good use of local people’s skills and energy and got them involved in the design and delivery of their People and Communities project.

Keep following our #BIGNIFunding campaign in the new year on facebook and twitter

To find out more about our funding, visit our website.

You can contact the Big Lottery Fund advice team in Northern Ireland by emailing enquiries.ni@biglotteryfund.org.uk or telephoning 028 9055 1455 and selecting option 2.  Our team is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.