VOLUNTEERS at a Hallow farm-based day service are celebrating after Worcester residents votes helped win them more than £60,000 of National Lottery funding.
Wildgoose Rural Training has been awarded more than £68,000 after it was announced as one of the winners of The People’s Projects campaign.
The farm-based day service helps to bring people with disabilities together, and is regularly used by more than 110 adults and 40 young school age students, who struggle to attend school.
It gives them the chance to learn from new experiences, out and about in the open air.
This can be anything from interacting with animals, learning what goes into looking after a farm, to woodwork and maintaining vehicles.
The new funding will support them to build new teaching spaces, create employment opportunities, buy new teaching resources and grow organic produce to make wholesome food.
It will also give those who attend an opportunity to care for animals, and participate in woodworking, mechanics and blacksmithing.
The service, moved to a brand new 42-acre site in 2019, and is contracted by Worcestershire County Council as a day opportunity for adults with disabilities.
Coun Adrian Hardman, county council cabinet member for Adult Social Care, said: “I’m thrilled for Wildgoose Rural Training winning this substantial funding from the National Lottery, it is incredibly well deserved.
“This funding will allow them to continue the fantastic work they do with people with disabilities, and offer a wider set of learning opportunities, out in the open air.”
Jim Hidderley, managing director for Wildgoose Rural Training, said: “We are all so pleased to receive this funding, it will make a massive difference to us.
“We are also very thankful to those who voted, you are the folks who made the difference and won the funding for us. We are looking forward to providing even more high quality and engaging activities for all our students.”
The National Lottery Community Fund, ITV, UTV and the Sunday Mail (in Scotland) have teamed up to give the public a chance to decide how National Lottery funding should be put to good use in their local area through The People’s Projects.
Since it started in 2005, The People’s Projects has awarded around £45million to more than 1,000 good causes.
