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Nine local charity groups given helping hand with lottery win

Nine charity organisations across the Vale have each received £1,000 of unrestricted funding to support their work with local communities thanks to the White Horse Community Lottery.

Now in its second year, the White Horse Community Lottery has raised just under £28,000 and helped 49 local organisations, voluntary and charitable groups who are committed to supporting our communities and natural environment.

The community lottery was launched by Vale of White Horse District Council in 2021 to connect community groups with supporters and help residents support the causes they care about most.

Players of the lottery can choose a good cause they wish to support, including the White Horse Community Fund – which has resulted in an additional £9,000 to be distributed to good causes currently signed up to the scheme. The Councils’ Cabinet members agreed that the White Horse Community Fund will be distributed by making a random selection of nine winners with an award of £1,000 each in 2022/23.*

Cllr Bethia Thomas, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council said: “This funding is a lifeline to many charities to help more people in our communities without the need for a grant application.

“I’m delighted we can support these nine organisations and I thank all our lottery supporters for buying their tickets and supporting their amazing work in our local communities.”

Yellow Submarine is an award-winning Oxfordshire charity that support individuals with learning disabilities and autism from the age of 11 onwards. The charity not only provide social activities for their members but are also an established training provider with two social enterprise cafés where their trainees undertake work experience and lessons. The charity are one of the nine organisations awarded with £1,000 through the White Horse Community Fund.

Ella O’Brien, Community Fundraising, Marketing and Communications Officer at Yellow Submarine said: “We believe people with learning disabilities and autism deserve to live life to the full. We offer a variety of services to those with mild to moderate needs including social clubs, activity days, residential holidays and a traineeship.

“These projects increase confidence and independence in our members as well as provide respite for families and carers. We are really appreciative of this funding which will help us continue to support young people and adults with learning disabilities and autism reach their full potential through our social projects and traineeship!”

The nine winners, who have each been awarded £1,000 from the White Horse Community Fund are:

  • Abingdon Carousel Family Centre
  • Marcham Pre-school
  • October Club (in Wantage)
  • Radley Lakes Trust
  • Rotary Club Faringdon and District
  • Sustainable Wantage
  • The Mulberry Bush Organisation
  • Yellow Submarine
  • Youth Challenge Oxfordshire

More about the White Horse Community Lottery

* The White Horse Community Fund will be distributed by making a random selection of nine winners with an award of £1,000 each in 2022/23, and from 2023/24 organisations selling 20 tickets a week or more will receive a proportional share of the funds based on their ticket sales.

For more information on how organisations can join the lottery and how residents can support good causes in the district, please head to the lottery website www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/vale-of-white-horse-district-council/community-support/white-horse-community-lottery/

Lottery prizes range from free prize draw entries to a weekly £25,000 jackpot. Tickets cost just £1 with 60p from every ticket sold going to support charities and community groups across the district.

Notes to editors

High-res images available on request:

IMAGE 1 CAPTION: L-R: Cllr Bethia Thomas, Leader of Vale of the White Horse District Council with Kate Day, Supervisor at Yellow Submarine’s Oxford café