Gracehill Old School Trust receives grant of £28,000 from the Heritage Recovery Fund to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 91 organisations and individuals have been awarded grants through the
Heritage Recovery Fund to help recover from the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic
• The Heritage Recovery Fund is being distributed by The National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of the Department for Communities
• The fund is part of the £29million Executive allocation to support the arts, culture, heritage and language sectors in Northern Ireland.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund announced grants to help 50 organisations and 41 individuals adapt, recover and re-open following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grants from the Heritage Recovery Fund were awarded to a wide range of organisations and individuals in the heritage sector, from historic sites, attractions and landscapes, to tour guides and specialist heritage conservators.
The funding will help Gracehill Old School Trust engage with new audiences online whilst normal activities remain closed and also cover some of the lost income that resulted. It will also help with the production of a new website and improved interpretative signage around the village.
Dr David Johnston, Chairman of the Trust said “The effects of covid have been very severe in the community and heritage sector and our Trust, which has been very active and successful over many years, would not have survived without this vital lifeline, for which we are very grateful to the Department for Communities and The National Lottery
Heritage Fund.”
The Heritage Recovery Fund is part of the £29 million Executive allocation that was made to the Department for Communities to support the arts, culture, heritage and language sectors which have been severely impacted by COVID-19.
This is the latest package of support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support the heritage sector across the UK throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Last year, the organisation committed over £600million of National Lottery and Government
funding to more than 1,500 heritage organisations, along with expertise and advice on adapting to the pandemic.
Paul Mullan, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:
“We are grateful to the Department for Communities for providing this funding and enabling us to help a wide range of organisations and individuals in Northern Ireland’s heritage sector to recover from the current crisis.
“The risks to heritage sites, attractions and organisations from a sudden and dramatic loss of income as a result of the pandemic, have put the heritage and visitor economy in crisis, and this funding will play a vital role in their recovery.
“Heritage has an essential role to play in making communities better places to live, creating economic prosperity and supporting personal wellbeing. All of these are going to be vitally important as we emerge from the current pandemic.”
To find out more about The National Lottery Heritage Fund, go to: www.heritagefund.org.uk
