£1 million National Lottery funding boost for UK communities to commemorate Windrush 75
By Phil Chamberlain, England Director at The National Lottery Community Fund
You may have seen an article in The Voice this month looking at how The National Lottery Community Fund is supporting communities to mark the important 75th anniversary of Windrush.
In it, we heard from three of the 100 successful groups to receive a share of almost £1 million. They told us about their great projects and the difference they’re going to make for their community, as well as sharing personal reflections of what Windrush Day and the 75th anniversary means to them.
Dr Faye Bruce DL is Chair of the Caribbean & African Health Network Caribbean & African Health Network, which is using a National Lottery grant to host a special Windrush 75 Health Walk and Festival on Saturday 24 June at Alexander Park in Manchester.
She reflected: “Both my parents arrived in the UK in 1961 having given up their home in Jamaica in the hope of building a better life for themselves and their family. Celebrating Windrush is a real opportunity to salute, commemorate, recognise and celebrate those that came and contributed to UK society for the sake of future generations.”
This is echoed by Joanne Alexander, Director of Can't Blame Da Youth, which is using its award to bring people together through a series of carnival arts workshops, as well as forming part of Leicester Carnival on Saturday 5 August.
She told us: “The 75th anniversary of Windrush means a lot to our community as many of our grandparents and parents are the Windrush first and second generation. After facing racism, prejudice and stereotypes we have built new lives and families and had to fight to be accepted. We have the legacy of contribution, which makes us feel proud.”
One of the groups funded is holding a special event on Windrush day itself to celebrate the contributions of former industrial workers of African Caribbean heritage from the Windrush generation.
Norma Gregory, Diverse Heritage Leader at Nottingham News Centre, tells us: “Over the past ten years, our group has been collating, preserving, and sharing our diverse, industrial heritage. We relish moments like this where communities can come together to share and hear memories, lived experiences and achievements of the Windrush generation, their descendants and legacy.”
The ways in which communities are choosing to mark Windrush 75 are varied and creative – we’ve had some fantastic applications and I’m delighted we’ve been able to fund so many of them.
But it doesn’t end there! Grants up to £10,000 are still available through our National Lottery Awards for All programme throughout this year for communities looking to commemorate Windrush 75, so do continue to apply if you are planning an event or activity later this year.
For example, people have told us that they will be celebrating during Black History Month in October. With this in mind, we are holding free grant application clinics in June, specifically tailored to support those applying for Windrush 75 Black History Month funding.
You will hear about eligibility criteria, what grants can be spent on, and what we are looking for in an application. Visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-national-lottery-community-fund to sign up to a session.
Alternatively, visit www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/news/blog to read Windrush 75 blogs which provide advice and top tips on how to apply and strengthen your application.
Just as Windrush was the start of a new journey in the UK for the people and families involved, we hope that this funding will be the start of an ongoing relationship with us here at The National Lottery Community Fund. National Lottery funding is for everyone so please do come to us with your ideas to see if we can help.