Players of the Federation lottery have supported charities, voluntary organisations, sports clubs, and community groups to the tune of £24,000 this year.
Fifty grants with a combined total of £24,110 have been allocated to good causes nominated by you, our members. The money represents half the sum generated by the Federation lottery, with the other half being distributed as prizes to lottery winners.
Grants like these make a huge difference to the often small, grassroots organisations that receive them. Here are some of the groups you have supported this year:
Welsh Youth Football Tournament
Lauren Anderson from BTP Wales applied for a grant to help set up a football tournament with Caerphilly Castle Ladies FC. Their goals was to bring players from the wider community together to build relationships and to introduce themselves to some of the younger generation. The day was a great success.
Lauren and her colleagues told us: "Without the funding you were able to provide, we would not have been able to produce anything to congratulate the players, coaches, and parents. Each player walked away with, at the very least, a medal to show that their involvement and efforts throughout the day had not gone unnoticed, with the winning teams taking home shields and trophies."
Southampton Trampoline Club
Philip James nominated Southampton Trampoline Club to receive a grant to help them buy new equipment. The club's head coach, Jo, wrote to us to say: "This means better training opportunities for our national competitors, and we can get more members accessing our sport as we have more equipment."
Rising Golf Star
Talented young golfer, Megan Fallon, received a grant to help her with the cost of entering tournaments. This year alone she has been crowned Junior Midlothian Champion, East Lothian Junior Champion, and Junior Tour Scotland Order of Merit Champion.
Megan is also part of the Midlothian Ladies County Team who are Scottish County Champions and has been selected by Scottish Golf in the Development Squad. Go Megan!
Crime prevention support for community allotment
The Moorends Community Allotment Association received a grant which they used to buy two CCTV cameras. The site in Doncaster had sadly been experiencing vandalism and unwanted visitors.
Macmillan Cancer Support
Ian Wright received a donation towards his fundraising for the charity Macmillan Mighty Hike. He and a group of friends covered 26 miles for the charity (Ian is pictured on the far right of the photo. The money raised helps with the cost of providing the Macmillan Support Line, Macmillan nurses and the charity's online community.
Britain's Strongest Police Officer
Barrie Whitehead received a grant to help with the costs of running and participating in the Britain's Strongest Police officer competition. The great news is, he won! Barrie told us: "The competition was a success. I've been helping run it and promote it for a few years now and this year we had 40 entries, both male and female, from beginner to open level.
The BTP Federation Lottery is a monthly draw costing from £1-£5 per week. Prizes range from £50 - £1,000 depending on the number of members taking part. Participation is open to all serving members (via payroll deduction) and retired members (via Direct Debit). Prize draws are made monthly, with two draws in December, and the winning numbers are published on a regular basis. Find out more here.
If you would like to nominate a club, charity or good cause to receive a lottery grant, please contact us on info@btpfed.co.uk.