House of Lords Pays Tribute to Youngsters Funded by the Health Lottery
Last Updated: Friday 17th July 2015, 11:26
The House of Lords was the setting this week for the Connecting Communities awards, honouring the work of twelve outstanding young people in inspiring others in their local area. The scheme is made possible through donations from the People’s Health Trust, which distributes money raised through the various society lotteries that make up the Health Lottery.
Connecting Communities is run in twelve disadvantaged areas of Great Britain and brings together people who are willing to volunteer on various projects aimed at empowering other local youngsters. Rowell Hartley, a 12-year-old from Gedling in Nottingham, was celebrated for his work leading sporting activities at his school and claimed that it was “a huge honour” to attend the ceremony on behalf of his neighbourhood.
On the benefits of the programme, Rowell remarked, "Connecting Communities is a fantastic initiative that has helped our community take part in regular, structured, and fun activities. It has helped me develop my own confidence and leadership through being involved so this is an unforgettable moment for me."
Rowell’s experiences were backed up by the other volunteers who felt that they had developed essential skills and greater confidence since becoming involved with the programme. The vast majority also reportedly felt they had influenced their local community, going someway to confronting the issues blighting their areas.
The initiative has engaged more than 400 young people in activities during the last twelve months, with over 240,000 hours of volunteer time dedicated to more than 700 individual sessions in the 12 key areas of the country.
For every £1 you play on the Health Lottery, 20p is donated to health-related good causes. You don’t just stand a chance of bagging a massive £100,000 in Saturday night’s draw; you will also be helping fund initiatives that make a real difference to life in Great Britain. Health Lottery tickets are on sale now and you can get hold of them online through the Buy Tickets page, or at authorised retailers across the country.
