NEDAC RECEIVES £133,000 LIFELINE
Community groups across Edinburgh are celebrating the news of their National Lottery funding today (WEDNESDAY 17 July).
Over 500 community projects share in this latest round of funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, totalling £17,341,549. The funds will be directed towards bringing local people together and providing essential services across Scotland.
A full list of successful applicants can be found below.
North Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Centre receives £133,334. NEDAC, (formerly SHADA) who have been based in Muirhouse since 1983, will continue to deliver their service helping people who struggle to engage with mainstream services.
People who are at the highest risk of drug-related death who have long-term substance misuse/mental health issues will be assisted to gain control over their lives.
Drylaw Telford Community Association receives £20,000. The Neighbourhood Centre will use the funding over one year, for their 50 years+ Link Worker.
This project will benefit the over 50s community in North Edinburgh; and in particular those at high risk of being socially isolated.
An award of £19,513 means the Out of the Blue Arts and Education Trust will run a sustainable food project which will recycle food to produce jars of preserves which they will sell to the community and to farmers’ markets.
Rob Hoon, Chief Executive, Out of the Blue, said; “The ‘Preserves’ project is a new and exciting adventure for us, and this funding will allow us to process at least 4,000kg of ingredients per annum to make quality products that extend the shelf life of that food for up to 12 months.
“We will achieve this by producing small batch jams, pickles and preserves embracing traditional methods of preservation. We will work with people and community groups to support them to make their traditional preserves and gain new cooking skills.
The Grassmarket Community Project will run a programme of weekly digital skills workshops for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness after an award of £19,763.
Helene Van des Ploeg, Chief Executive Officer, Grassmarket Community Project, said: “Digital skills are so vitally important for all of us, whether it just be for connecting with friends or family through social media, writing a CV and applying for jobs or developing skills to open opportunities for employment through accredited learning.
“We will offer a high-quality service in which members can access new IT skills at any level and tailor the learning to match the needs of the individual and support them to work at their own pace, achieving their goals. We really appreciate the support that this funding will give us to go ahead with this vital project that will enable our members to flourish in the future.”
Thanks to an award of £63,189, Space at the Broomhouse will be able to extend their opening hours on Saturdays and provide more activities on offer.
Neil, Hay, CEO, Space at the Broomhouse, said: “We know that costs have risen significantly for all charities and community groups in the past few years and wanted to find a way to assist.
“Room hire, especially for smaller groups who do not have their own premises, is a big part of their costs, so we approached The National Lottery Community Fund to see if they could help.
“Thanks to their support we are in a position to offer a whole raft of help to the community, including free use of the halls at Space well into 2025.”
An award of £173,409, will enable Networking Key Services to run an innovative project which will use storytelling to build confidence in talking about challenging topic and issues.
Over the course of the next three years the project will work with hundreds of people from South Asian communities across the city.
Naina Minhas, Director, Networking Key Services, said: “The ‘Breaking Silence and Improving Lives’ aims to empower communities by giving them a collective voice to address issues affecting them.
“Through storytelling, the project will identify complex challenges and raise these with relevant services to improve quality of live for communities.”
The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “As The National Lottery approaches its 30th birthday it’s wonderful to see how the funding continues to help change lives for the better and just what can be accomplished when people join forces for a shared purpose or to support one another.
“National Lottery players should be proud to know the money they raise is supporting people across Edinburgh to lead happier and healthier lives.”
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes funding on behalf of National Lottery players who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK.
To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk
A heartfelt thank you to the Robertson Trust for their generous funding award of £27K over the next three years!
This funding is crucial as it supports our core costs, providing essential stability in a competitive funding environment.
We deeply appreciate the Robertson Trust’s belief in our mission and their invaluable support towards making a difference in our community. 
