MORE than £4 million was granted to help communities across North Yorkshire last year - thanks to National Lottery players, it has been revealed.

Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19 in 2020, National Lottery bosses say funding has enabled local good causes to carry on their work and bring hope to their communities.

They said the money, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, has helped communities to overcome some of 2020’s obstacles to deliver support and bring a sense of togetherness to people while they have had to remain apart.

Dementia Forward in Harrogate is just one of the good causes that has stepped up to help people during the difficult year.

It has been awarded more than £240,000 of National Lottery funding to support people with early onset dementia.

Jillian Quinn, CEO at Dementia Forward, said: “Whilst we wish we could be out and about in North Yorkshire doing activities with those diagnosed, thanks to National Lottery players we have a specialist young onset service that can continue to support people virtually and over the phone.

“We look forward to making the outward-bound service happen very soon.”

The National Lottery funding reached 129 organisations in North Yorkshire last year, funding important community programmes, say lottery chiefs.

Some of the other causes that have benefitted range from providing older people with technical assistance so they could keep in touch with loved ones during the pandemic, to mental health support for young people in Armed Forces families affected by Covid-19.

Abdou Sidibe, head of funding for Yorkshire and Humber at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “I am incredibly proud that we have distributed £4 million across North Yorkshire in what has been an extremely difficult year, helping to boost community spirit when it has been needed most.”

Thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised every week for the UK’s good causes, and £41 billion has been distributed to 565,000 good causes across the UK since 1994.