£499k lotto funding for Culmore Community Partnership enables two exciting new projects

CCP) was established by a group of volunteers in January 2018 and since then has renovated the former Victoria Hall, a long derelict Orange Hall at Culmore Point Road, to provide a fantastic community hub for local residents.

The hub opened in May 2021 providing services, support and activities for the whole community.

In May 2024 CCP secured £499,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund to deliver a 4-year programme which will provide them with the stability to continue with the delivery of their activities and support for the Culmore community.

Neil Doherty, CCP Chairman said: “The Culmore Hub Community Support programme will help us on our journey to create a connected and cohesive community.

"The National Lottery Community Fund has been a great support to Culmore and through their generous funding we have been able to bring much needed services to Culmore for people of all ages.

"This new funding will allow us to continue to support local people. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who plays the National Lottery as this would not be possible without their input.”

Kate Beggs, Northern Ireland Director of The National Lottery Community Fund said: “We’re delighted to award Culmore Community Partnership with a £499,000 National Lottery grant to provide activities, support and events for local residents, to reduce isolation and improve wellbeing.

"We look forward to seeing what they achieve over the coming months and years. National Lottery players can be proud to know the £30 million they raise each week for good causes, is making such a difference to people in Northern Ireland.”

The Culmore Hub Community Support programme will provide a wide range of activities and services including mental and physical well-being sessions for the whole community, parent and toddler support, activities and support for older people and sessions tailored to the specific needs of men and women, environmental programmes, and the much-loved Culmore community festivals programme.

This funding will help CCP to continue to combat loneliness and isolation by creating a purpose for residents to become involved in their own community either by volunteering or taking part.

Una Cooper, Manager of Culmore Community Partnership said “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way.

"Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to provide the ongoing services, support and activities our community needs.’

The community launch of the Culmore Hub Support Programme will take place on Tuesday, September 10, 2024 from 4pm to 7pm at Culmore Community Hub.

There will be entertainment, food and taster sessions for some of the activities that will be on offer at Hub. Una said: “The local community helped us design this project and we want them to come along and help us celebrate the launch of the Culmore Hub Community Support programme.

"We will have hot food available at the hub so there’s no need to worry about cooking for the family, just come along and enjoy activities and register for some of the wide range of sessions we have on offer at the Hub this Autumn.

"We’ll have lots of activities on offer to keep everyone entertained.”

Joy bells ringing as made-of-Culmore Community Partnership looks forward to its big opening

Culmore Hub Support Programme is one of two newly funded programmes being launched on Tuesday that will be delivered at the hub over the next several years.

The Culmore Connections project will be launched at 12pm on Tuesday.

Culmore Connections will celebrate cultural diversity in our community and will involve partnership working with Culmore Primary School, Hollybush Primary School, Culmore Youth Club, Muff Area Partnership and Waterside Presbyterian Church group.

The project has been funded through Derry City and Strabane District Council’s PEACEPLUS Local Co-Designed Action Plan.

Culmore Connections is a two-year intergenerational project which will be delivered within the Culmore and immediate cross-border areas.

Ms. Cooper said: “We are looking forward to delivering the Culmore Connections project which is supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

"The project will foster better community relations through providing opportunities for dialogue and partnership working on a cross community and cross border basis.

"Culmore Connections will give local residents, on both sides of the border, a positive opportunity to engage in a series of activities and events which will create a better understanding of our shared history.”

Almost £500,000 Lottery boost for Culmore’s new Four Corners Initiative

Culmore Connections aims to explore local history, heritage and traditions in the area as a whole, and encourage participants to gain an in-depth understanding of the traditions, faith and beliefs of people from religious backgrounds different to their own and with people living on the other side of the border.

This understanding will result in a deeper level of respect and tolerance. The project will include cultural day-trips, art workshops to design new stained glass windows which will be installed in the main hall in Culmore Community Hub, an opportunity for older people to produce a book of stories about their experience of living in Culmore, intergenerational story-telling workshops.

The launch is open to the whole community so if you would like to attend, please call 028 7116 3713 to book your place.

If you would like to attend the Culmore Hub Community Support Programme Launch please contact Culmore Community Partnership on 028 71136 3713 or email [email protected].

The traditional Derry song that inspired Steve Martin and is one of his all-time favourites