ClownDoctors who believe laughter is the best medicine for sick children in  acute hospitals and hospices across Northern Ireland are sharing in grants from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme.

The Awards for All small grants programme is awarding grants totalling £545,243 to 70 groups across Northern Ireland.

Full list of awards (.doc). 
- 130KB

The programme offers community, voluntary and statutory groups the chance to apply for small grants of between £500 and £10,000 that will have a big impact on local communities and the lives of people most in need.

Arts Care NI Ltd, the arts in health charity for Northern Ireland which takes all forms of the arts into healthcare settings for the benefit of patients, staff and visitors, has been awarded a grant of £9,380 to recruit and train new ClownDoctors.

The ClownDoctors, who are experienced, professional arts performers, visit children at their bedsides in hospitals and hospices across Northern Ireland and encourage them to be creative, play, and have fun.

Founder/Director of the Northern Ireland ClownDoctor project, Jan Branch, said: ““We are part of the team of care for each child we visit, working with medical and nursing staff, hospital play specialists, and family members. Our job within that team is to provide opportunities for fun, laughter, play, chat and creativity.

“Hospitals are challenging places for anyone, especially children who find themselves in a different, confusing and sometimes alien place. Every child has the right to play and to enjoy themselves and that’s why we’re here.

“Northern Ireland ClownDoctors are delighted at this award which allows us to recruit and train new ClownDoctors, to expand our team and our hospital visits.'

ClownDoctor Elaine Duncan, aka ‘Dr Twinkle’, said: “It’s really nice to be able to work with the children and see the smiles on their faces. The children’s wards we work in do a fantastic job and it’s lovely to be working with such a great team in really good environment.”

She continued: “The children have the choice whether they want to chat or play with us as we want to make sure they feel as comfortable as possible. It’s great when you do something that makes them giggle and you know they are having fun.”

Derry Well Women Limited, a group that works to improve the health of local women and families, has been awarded a grant of £7,572. The group, based on Queen’s Street, is using the grant to run a therapeutic support group for women with eating disorders.

Derry woman Julie Smith, 38, who has anorexia and attends the group every week, said:  “My eating disorder started when I was a teenager and it continued into my 20’s and 30’s. I was feeling lonely, isolated and depressed and I felt like this was the only thing I could control in my life.

“I kept it a secret and my family didn’t even know about how bad my condition was until I needed medical attention. When I was admitted to hospital I weighed six stones.

“I was put in contact with Derry Well Women and I have never really looked back. I feel supported and I have people to talk to about my disorder. I feel like I have got my life back and for the first time I can look to the future.”

Frank Hewitt, Big Lottery Fund NI Chair, said: “The Big Lottery Fund’s NI Awards for All programme funds health, education, environment and community projects that help people bring about positive change in their lives, improve health and well-being, develop skills and create safer communities.

“The application process is simple and accessible and shall remain so, making it easy for applicants to successfully apply for small pots of funding that can have such a big impact on local communities and lives.”

Application forms and guidance notes are available to download at www.awardsforall.org.uk.

For more details call us on 028 9055 1455, or e-mail us at enquiriesni@biglotteryfund.org.uk

Further Information

Andrew Kennedy, Press Office Big Lottery Fund: 028 90551426
Mobile: 07788 640 791

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The changes to Awards for All come after each distributor developed their funding programmes so they could offer specific small grants schemes that would better meet the needs of their sectors.
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
• BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £23 billion has now been raised and more than 317,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.