Today’s 11 grants worth £74,477 are the first from Celebrate, a National Lottery funding programme supporting events and projects which celebrate Glasgow 2014 or that are inspired by the 71 nations and territories which make up the Commonwealth.

Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Maureen McGinn, said: “This time next year the eyes of the world will be on Scotland as Glasgow gears up to host the Commonwealth Games. Celebrate has been created by Scotland’s four Lottery distributors to ensure communities across Scotland are able to share the feel-good factor of the Games and we are delighted to see these first grants showcasing a wide variety in what will be possible.

Celebrate offers an opportunity for everyone to get involved with Lottery funding of up to £10,000 on offer to arts, heritage, sports and community groups across the country to hold one off events.”

Cranhill Arts Project, in North Glasgow has been awarded £8,462 to run a series of workshops with a wide range of local people enabling them to make sculptures and murals on a sporting theme. The hard work will culminate with an exhibition and celebration.

Project Co-ordinator Chris Nicoletti, said: “We are delighted to have received this generous award from celebrate; the funding will enable us to deliver a vibrant program of activities while bringing the community together in a celebration of the 2014 commonwealth games. For many of the groups we work with this could be the only chance they will have the get involved with the Commonwealth Games.

On Shetland Yell Youth Café have been awarded £8,000 to get involved and celebrate the Glasgow games. Support Worker, Martin Summer, said, “This funding will provide Shetland’s young people with the opportunity to ensure that Glasgow 2014 and the four legacy themes reach the length and breadth of Scotland.  With about a year to go to the Youth Legacy Ambassadors, Youth Ambassadors and Yell Youth Café are all very excited to start work on Celebrating Glasgow 2014.”

Young Scot Youth Legacy Ambassador, Sam Maver, said, “We are so excited to receive the Celebrate funding as it allows young people in Shetland to get involved in sporting and cultural events to help raise awareness of the Commonwealth Games. The funding will help to promote Glasgow 2014 in Shetland so that young people can get involved and feel part of the legacy the games will provide for the next generation.”

Celebrate has been developed by the SLDF which is made up of all four Scottish Lottery Distributors, Big Lottery Fund, Creative Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund and sportscotland. It is open to applications from today for celebrations of the people, places and culture of the Commonwealth and of the Games themselves.

Projects:

Aberdeen Sports Village Limited, Aberdeen City
Award: £6,000
This group through their ASV's Commonwealth Sports Tour project will offer up to 400 children in P4-S2, a ten-week programme of one-hour sessions where they can try ten different Commonwealth sports. This will be delivered in the evening during the final school term of 2013/14.

Cairngorms Business Partnership Ltd, Highland
Award: £8,100
The partnership will celebrate the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on 4th August 2013 by holding the Cairngorms Bike Festival at Glenmore Lodge near Aviemore. The event will celebrate, promote and educate people on all aspects of cycling.

Cleveden Secondary School, Glasgow City
Award: £4,900
The school will run weekly Classical Indian Dance sessions for its pupils and at least one of its feeder primary schools, culminating in an end of year dance show.

Cranhill Arts Project, Glasgow City
Award: £8,462 
The project through their Commonwealth Games murals and sculptures 2014 project will provide workshops to people from Cranhill, Glasgow to allow them to produce sculptures on a sporting theme and murals to reflect the core principals of the Commonwealth.

East Lothian Council - Support Services, East Lothian
Award: £6,570
The grant will be used to organise a multi-cultural day at Prestongrange Museum providing local people with an introduction to the people, cultures and heritage of the Commonwealth, as well as the sports featured in the Commonwealth Games.

Easthall Residents Association, Glasgow City
Award: £9,995 
The association will run the Commonwealth Youth Awareness Project to benefit young people from Easterhouse, Glasgow. A weekly activity session will be held to introduce young people to sports including table tennis, badminton, cycling and track and field.

Gartcairn Football Academy, North Lanarkshire
Award: £9,150
The academy will organise a Commonwealth Games themed 'It's a Knockout' competition for local people.

Let's Get Sporty CIC, Dumfries and Galloway
Award: £5,500
This organisation will deliver a series of sports taster sessions to up to 40 local schools/community groups, which will incorporate a Commonwealth theme and feature 2014 Commonwealth Games sports.

St Elizabeth's Primary School & Nursery, South Lanarkshire
Award: £2,700
The school will through their 'Celebrating Commonwealth Community' project benefit all pupils and the local community by raising awareness of the meaning of commonwealth. The ten classes in the school each will adopt a commonwealth country and research the country for a presentation at a community event entitled 'Celebrating Commonwealth Community Day'.

The Gladiator Programme Limited, Glasgow City
Award: £8,100
The programme's 'Celebrating the Commonwealth - Weightlifting' project will deliver 60 taster sessions for young people in secondary schools and youth projects.

Yell Youth Cafe, Shetland Islands
Award: £8,000
The café will celebrate the 2014 Commonwealth Games by organising a series of sporting and cultural events related to the Commonwealth Games. These activities will be lead by the Youth Legacy Ambassadors and Young Ambassadors who will inspire young people in the community to try a commonwealth sport or coach one of the sports.

Notes to editors

Celebrate is a £4 million joint awards programme from the four Scottish Lottery distributors: Big Lottery Fund, Creative Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund and sportscotland.

Celebrate will allow communities across Scotland to apply for up to £10,000 to organise events that celebrate the 2014 Commonwealth Games through arts, heritage, sports, community and local celebrations or events that celebrate the people places and culture of the commonwealth.

Celebrate was launched in April 2013 and the last grants will be awarded in December 2014.

Celebrates website

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Further information

Emma Whitfield, Communications Manager BIG Scotland on 0141 242 1415 / 07880 737 157 or emma.whitfield@biglotteryfund.org.uk