Local charity Somerset Cricket Foundation is today celebrating after being awarded £20,000 in National Lottery funding to support its work with older people to help reduce social isolation and increase mental and physical wellbeing. The charity, based at the Cooper Associates County Ground, will use the money to continue the running of the popular Walkers & Talkers programme that meets monthly and two weekly Sporting Memories groups in Weston-Super-Mare and Bridgwater.
‘Sporting Memories’ is a weekly session, aimed at men 50yrs+ who are living with mild cognitive impairment, depression or loneliness and those wishing to talk about sport with like-minded people. The sessions are run by volunteers at the local cricket clubs, with free coffee, chat, games and physical activity. The two groups have a regular attendance of 30 men, and a recent evaluation showed that 89% of attendees had made new friends and improved their mental wellbeing.
Monthly ‘Walkers and Talkers’ in Taunton is open to anyone 50yrs+, and offers free drinks and biscuits, a gentle stroll and a one-hour Q&A with a sporting legend or a well-known person. The sessions are well attended, with over 190 people having visited at least one talk. The overwhelming feeling after sessions is that attendees feel more included in their local community.
The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will see these sessions continued across Somerset, in a bid to increase belonging and improve mental and physical wellbeing.
Jon Bendle, Managing Director of Somerset Cricket Foundation, said: “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised the importance of these programmes in our communities across Somerset. Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to secure the future of two tried and tested programmes which deliver strong impact and outcomes.”
Steve Gass, Community Programmes manager at Somerset Cricket Foundation, said: “It’s great to be able offer these two great programmes some stability, as we recognise the impact they are having on participants.”
See what Sporting Memories is all about👇
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The National Lottery Community Fund recently launched its strategy, ‘It starts with community’, which will underpin its efforts to distribute at least £4 billion of National Lottery funding by 2030.
As part of this, the funder has four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. Thanks to them, last year (2023/24) The National Lottery Community Fund awarded over half a billion pounds (£686.3 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, supporting over 13,700 projects to turn their great ideas into reality.
To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk
