Vote for Your Favourite Project in the National Lottery Awards from Today
Last Updated: Thursday 24th September 2020, 11:06
Voting is now open for the National Lottery Awards, in which the public chooses their favourite projects that have been made possible by the National Lottery Good Causes fund. A panel of judges narrows down each year’s entries until they are agreed on the seven most worthy programmes in seven different sectors - arts, education, environment, health, heritage, sport and voluntary.
Each cause nominated has benefitted from lottery funding, with 28p of every pound played on Lotto, EuroMillions and instant win games being placed into the Good Causes pot. In addition, any prizes that remain unclaimed 180 days after the draw date will also be used to fund community projects across the UK. Find out more about where your money goes at the National Lottery Good Causes Fund page.
You have until Wednesday 29th July to make up your mind about your favourite entries, with the winners in each category receiving £2,000 to boost their coffers.
Projects up for the vote in the arts section include a scheme to promote music concerts in libraries, an educational project that commemorated the First World War through music and dance and the £15 million renovation of the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester. The education category is honouring programmes such as the High Street Experiment, which helps young people who have missed out on schooling learn new skills and earn qualifications.
The restoration of Lincoln Castle, which provided an improved area in which to display its copy of Magna Carta on its 800th anniversary, is nominated in the heritage category. It is up against projects such as the St Columba Heritage Centre in Derry/Londonderry. A charity called ORCA that educates children about whales is represented in the environment section, along with a scheme to plant hedges in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, along an avenue that has featured in hit TV show Game of Thrones.
Music Matters, which provides live musical performances for people in care homes, and an alcohol-free bar and cafe in Liverpool are amongst the hopefuls in the health category. In the sport section there is a wheelchair rugby league team competing against the This Girl Can programme to encourage women to celebrate being active, and the voluntary category sees a helpline for lonely older people, a West Midlands foodbank and five others hoping to claim the prize.
Every time you play National Lottery games, you are ensuring these and thousands more fantastic schemes across the country can carry out great work. Buying tickets for tonight’s £5.6 million Lotto draw will help those in need and could win you a life-changing amount of money. Use the Lotto Number Generator to help you pick a truly random selection of numbers that could well bag you the big prize this evening!