Help Back-Up win by giving them your vote on line
Back Up, a Wandsworth charity that helps people who are paralysed, is through the finals of this year’s prestigious National Lottery Awards.
The Awards are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects, and they recognise and celebrate the difference that Lottery-funded projects make to communities across the UK.
The National Lottery Awards have seven categories - each reflecting an area of Lottery funding: Sport; Heritage; Arts; Environment; Health; Education; and Back Up Mentoring is one of only seven projects to make it through to the finals in the Best Health Project category.
This year 1,000 people in the UK will be told they will never walk again. Back Up Mentoring is there to provide people with paralysis and their families with the support they need to overcome the anxiety and stress associated with adjusting to a traumatic life change. The service matches people with volunteer mentors with similar experiences who offer practical and emotional support.
Back Up Mentoring improves the lives of 120 people who are affected by spinal cord injury every year - including young people who want to talk about school or university, as well as older people who have become paralysed after a fall. A mentor can help someone to reach their full potential and re-discover life can be rewarding.
The unique accredited service also helps parents, as feelings of depression, anger and hopelessness are common emotions as they struggle to get the help a child who is paralysed requires.
The winning project in each category will receive national recognition on a star-studded BBC One TV show in early September and, in addition to the Lottery funding they have already received, will receive a £2,000 cash prize to spend on their project.
“We are delighted to have made it through to the finals of this year’s National Lottery Awards,” Louise Wright, Back Up’s CEO, said. “Our volunteer mentors help so many people who are paralysed and their families, enabling them to live happy and rewarding lives.”
“It would be wonderful for the hard work of our volunteers to be recognised with Back Up Mentoring being crowned the UK’s Best Health project,” Wright added.
Voting for the finals starts at 9am on June 24 and ends at midnight on July 29. To register your vote for Back Up Mentoring visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/project/back-mentoring or call 0844 836 9699.
June 25, 2015