East Belfast GAA is calling for your support after one of its community projects was nominated for a major award.
The club's Youth Together initiative has been shortlisted from 1,300 nominations and has now reached the public voting stage in this year’s National Lottery Awards, which celebrate the inspirational people and projects which do extraordinary things with the help of National Lottery funding.
And now East Belfast GAA is appealing for public support in order to be crowned National Lottery Project of the Year 2022.
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There are 17 shortlisted finalists from across the UK, all of which will compete in a four-week public vote from September 7 to October 7 to be named the National Lottery Project of the Year. Winners will receive a £5,000 cash prize for their project and an iconic National Lottery Awards trophy.
East Belfast GAA’s Youth Together project seeks to welcome migrants, refugees and children from low-income families into sport. It received National Lottery funding from Sport NI in addition to a successful crowdfunding campaign by club members and supporters.
Ciara Boake, Integration Officer at East Belfast GAA said: “At East Belfast GAA we are committed to removing boundaries and breaking down stereotypes.
“Our Youth Together programme works with three-12-year-olds from refugee, migrant and low-income families. We have young members from Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Iraq. This project aims to help children and families integrate through sport, to improve physical and mental health whilst building a diverse community.
“It is a great honour to be nominated for a National Lottery Award and it would be absolutely wonderful, for our club and for all those involved, to be named National Lottery Project of the Year 2022.”
Jonathan Tuchner, from the National Lottery, added: ““We are delighted to have received these outstanding nominations highlighting the excellent work that National Lottery-funded projects are doing in their local areas. In these challenging times, it is heartening to see so many people and projects dedicating their time and energy into giving something back to their communities.
"It’s thanks to National Lottery players, who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes, that brilliant projects like Youth Together are able to do their incredible work and with the support of the public they could be named National Lottery Project of the Year 2022.”
To vote for East Belfast GAA’s Youth Together project, please go to lotterygoodcauses.org.uk /awards . Or simply use the Twitter hashtag #NLAYouthTogether. Voting runs from 9am on September 7 until 5pm on October 7.
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