More young cancer patients will go on much needed breaks with their peers as Youth Cancer Trust receives £271,516 from the Big Lottery Fund today to continue to provide free, activity-based holidays at its converted hotel in Bournemouth.

The award comes from BIG’s Reaching Communities programme which has given 39 projects across the country grants totalling £8,712,159 this month.

Youth Cancer Trust’s holiday house can accommodate eight young people at a time, from all over England, and visitors are allowed to bring a sibling or a friend to make them feel more at home.

The house is close to the beach in Bournemouth and activities are fun-based and varied, such as horse riding, waterskiing, go carting and yachting; but they are completely optional. Visitors can relax at the house, play pool and socialise if they prefer, or if their illness prevents more physical activity.

The loss of daughter Tracy Ann to cancer inspired Brenda Clark to set up an organisation offering young people all across England with the illness a break from exhaustive treatment. The organisation celebrates its tenth anniversary in July.

Brenda Clark said: “There are some similar charities in the UK but they tend to send young cancer sufferers away to different locations for holidays, or they offer trips for the whole family.  The Youth Cancer Trust is unique because youngsters can come to us with a companion – a friend or sibling – and this means they get to meet young people of a similar age and going through a similar experience.

“The holidays provide a welcome distraction from the stress of endless hospital visits and treatment, not just for the young people themselves, but for the families that care for them.

“This award will fund staff salaries for the next three years. This will take away the worry about finding the funds to pay for salaries and will allow us to use any other money we fundraise to increase the youngster’s enjoyment whilst they stay with us.  We will be able to improve our in-house amenities and add some new fun activities for the youngsters to choose from when they come on a holiday.”

One such person who could benefit from the funding is Sarah, aged 16-years-old, who said: “I find that since having cancer it is very hard to spend time with ‘normal’ people. I have had to have so much time off school that I have been very depressed and lonely.  When I came to the YCT it was great to meet other teenagers with cancer who also had no hair and for once I felt normal.  It was so much fun doing the activities and everyone is so friendly and chilled out at the house.  I can’t wait to go back for another holiday and this Big Lottery grant means I will be able to.”

Sanjay Dighe, Big Lottery Fund Chair of England Committee, said: “Youth Cancer Trust is a perfect illustration of the importance of the projects we are funding through Reaching Communities. The programme has been making awards for a year now and has already handed out almost £120 million, helping organisations across England to offer people better chances in life and reach out to some of the most vulnerable groups.”

Further information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The Big Lottery Fund rolls out close to £2 million in Lottery good cause money every 24 hours, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
• The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.
• On 1 December 2006 the Big Lottery Fund was officially established by Parliament and at the same time assumed the residual responsibilities of the dissolved National Lottery Charities Board (Community Fund) the New Opportunities Fund, and the Millennium Commission. The Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to Good Causes. As a result, over £19.5 billion has now been raised and more than 250,000 grants given out to the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
• Reaching Communities is part of BIG’s portfolio of new programmes. Following an intense and comprehensive process of consultation with stakeholders and the general public over the last year, the Fund has undertaken to distribute 60-70% of its funding to the third sector.  At least one-third of BIG funding will be demand-led and lightly prescribed.  In England, this will amount to at least £600 million over the period 2005-2009. This commitment will be met from a variety of funding streams, including Reaching Communities, Awards for All, part of the Young People’s Fund, Community Buildings, Advice Services and the People’s Millions.
• UK-wide, the Big Lottery Fund will distribute through its new programmes and allocations funding worth over £2.6bn between now and April 2009. Regularly updated information on BIG’s new programmes is available at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/publications.htm