DanceSyndrome is celebrating after receiving almost £160,000 of National Lottery funding.
The new grant from the Big Lottery Fund will support a new social franchising model that will give DanceSyndrome greater sustainability for the future. The project will enable the charity to work with chosen partners in other areas of the UK to deliver the charity’s unique dance leadership training course.
By the end of the project, DanceSyndrome hope to have a training package that can be used by other groups across the UK to train people with and without disabilities to be Dance Leaders, focusing on ability rather than disability and challenging existing perceptions about people with disabilities.
Dawn Vickers, Managing Director at DanceSyndrome, said “Receiving this funding is a huge boost for DanceSyndrome! It means that we can reach out to even more people and show them not only that dance is a powerful tool for building confidence, life skills and happiness, but also that everyone can be a leader in all activities in our society, regardless of whether they have a disability or not. The funding secures a future for our small local charity and gives us real potential to take the work we do to a national level!”
James Harcourt, England Grant Making Director, Big Lottery Fund said “We are proud to celebrate projects that make a difference to people and the communities they live in. It is great to think that National Lottery players have now raised £36 billion for Good Causes and it’s when you hear about projects like Everybody Dance that you realise the incredible impact that funding has had across England. Whether the grant is for £500, or £500,000, our funding is used to run amazing projects led by local people. It really is life changing.”
The Big Lottery are the biggest community funder in the UK. They are responsible for distributing 40 per cent of all the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery. Every year they fund 12,000 community groups and charitable projects using money raised by National Lottery players.
If you would like more information, please contact the team via email at info@dancesyndrome.co.uk
Top image: Members of our Chorley workshop receive the Big Lottery cheque with DanceSyndrome Founder Jen Blackwell and Dance Artist Donna Harrison.
