Exciting news for Afrocats!

We are delighted to have been awarded £79,175 in National Lottery funding over three years to deliver a programme of activity to reduce barriers for refugees, people seeking asylum and young people facing social exclusion in Greater Manchester.

The grant will enable us to upscale our programmes to support children who experience social exclusion by providing extra-curricular poetry, dance, art, debating and theatre workshops to help improve academic performance. Along with providing community, health and wellbeing support for adults in the asylum system.

The funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, is a major win for the micro-charity and helps create a sustainable future for Afrocats. Founded by Magdalen Bartlett, we have gone from strength-to-strength since launching in 2019 and were recognised for our work in response to Covid-19 by Manchester City Council last year at the Manchester Cultural Awards.

Magdalen is from Barbados and immigrated to England when she was 12 years old. Her family settled in Manchester until unexpectedly, a few years later, they found themselves under threat of deportation. Thankfully, Magdalen and her family found love and support in their local community who campaigned alongside them for their permanent resident status, which was granted five years later. This experience drove Magdalen to set up Afrocats and use the arts to help people with similar life experiences to make social connections, build confidence and develop their skills.

Magdalen Barlett, CEO and Founder of Afrocats said: “The funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to support our development as a CIO and bring on a much-needed team will help us to truly strive as an organisation. Thanks to National Lottery players we can build on Afrocats’ successes to reach even more communities that need that additional support to grow.”

Gillian Haliwell, Head of Funding for the North West at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “We are delighted to support Afrocats. Thanks to National Lottery players, this project will have a positive impact on local children and young people experiencing social exclusion. It will help to reduce loneliness and boost confidence and resilience, and will ensure young people have a creative outlet with the aim of improving their overall wellbeing.”

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week across the UK for good causes. The National Lottery Community Fund as a distributor ensures a share of this funding goes straight to communities, helping them to tackle important issues such as supporting young people into employment, mental health and climate action.

About Afrocats

Afrocats is an award-winning charity that works across Greater Manchester to support people who face social exclusion because of their race, immigration status or socio-economic background. The charity works tirelessly with enthusiasm to build agency, aspiration and a more inclusive society. The charity is female-led and delivers programmes of activities for adults and young people across Greater Manchester.

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For more information visit https://www.afrocats.org.uk/

About the National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we support people and communities to prosper and thrive.  

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with the Government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.  

Our funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people’s lives. We support projects focussed on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping the UK reach net zero by 2050.  

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.    

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects - 255 projects per postcode area. 

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For more information visit https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/