Wrexham group one of communities in Wales awarded a share of more than a million pounds

As the impacts of the measures to control COVID-19 grow, the fund continues to award grants and support local communities to deal with the challenges posed by the lockdown.

Staff are working from home and the organisation’s priority is ensuring that money keeps flowing into communities.

Mind Ltd in Mold applied for £9,750 to continue and expand its Wellbeing Hub in Wrexham.

John Rose, Wales Director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “As the largest funder of community activity in the UK, our first priority is to support people and communities through our funding in the best way we can.

“We want to reassure the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector that we are still here and still making awards.

"In fact, we have committed up to £300 million of National Lottery funding to support communities in dealing with the current crisis.

"This is not new money, but it will be fast tracked into communities.

“We appreciate that many of the organisations who have just heard they have been awarded funding may need to delay the delivery of their project.

"We will be flexible and trust that all our grant holders know what is best as they manage the impact of these challenging times.”

The Fund announced last week that, over the next six months, up to £300m of National Lottery funding will be awarded across the UK, to address the current crisis.

Some of the organisations who have previously had grants are already adapting the support they offer, as they respond to government guidelines on social distancing. For example Same But Different, usually based in Mold, has moved its weekly ‘Coffee and Share’ group online so that they can still come together virtually to support one another during these challenging times.

Full updates from The National Lottery Community Fund’s response to the measures to address COVID-19 and general contact details can be found at www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk