COMMUNITY groups in the Okehampton area are celebrating a clutch of cash grants worth more than £12,000, scooped from the National Lottery's Awards for All scheme.
The scheme approves grants of between £500 and £5000 to local groups and in this round of awards the biggest award winner was Okehampton Arts and Music Festival Group.
The group has been awarded £5,000 to develop an oral history project, concentrating on memories and stories in Okehampton.
Alan King, chairman of the festival group, said: 'What we've done is actually employ Wren Trust to work with local primary school children and also collect memories from older members of the Okehampton community, to devise a tale trail around Simmons Park.
'These memories will be turned into poetry and singing and will coincide with the re-dedication of Simmons Park on the final day of the arts and music festival on July 20.'
He said the group aimed to produce a project which brought different facets of the community together in a meaningful way, but which was arts-based as well.
Mr King said he was 'extremely' pleased to have won the award and paid tribute to colleague Chris Tooke for working so hard on the award application.
'We've made applications before and weren't successful, but this time we picked a specific project and we were highly delighted to be awarded the money,' said Mr King.
Hatherleigh's community magazine, the Parish Pump, has benefited to the tune of £3,490.
Neil Price, Parish Pump editor, said the money has been spent on a faster and better printer to produce the 1,000 monthly copies of the magazine.
Mr Price said: 'Basically it's going to save us money in the long run. We needed a printer which could print fairly quickly and it's probably going to save us about £50 a month, which on a small budget is a reasonable amount of money.'
Mr Price said the printer may also be used for other small runs but a decision has yet to be made on full usage of the new equipment.
The Winsford Trust was awarded a grant of £3,300. The Trust has used the award to buy a marquee, which has been put to good use during the golden jubilee celebrations and will be invaluable for future events organised at Winsford.
And Spreyton Primary School has been awarded £1,428. The school is using the money to purchase gym mats and benches which will be used by the after school club and other community groups using the village hall.
Steve Barriball, senior officer for Awards for All in Exeter, said: 'This latest round of award announcements will make a real impact for these deserving groups. I am acutely aware of how much difference even a small grant can make to community organisations and I have no doubt that the awards we are announcing will make a significant difference to local communities across the South West.'
Mr Barriball said the scheme aims to fund projects which extend access and participation, increase skills and creativity and quality of life.
Awards for All are particularly interested in applications from groups led by or benefiting disabled people, black and minority ethnic people, older people and children and young people.
'We are also keen to see applications from disadvantaged rural communities,' said Mr Barriball.
To apply for an Awards for All grant you can call 0845 600 20 40 — or visit the website at http://www.awardsforall.org.uk">www.awardsforall.org.uk
Application results are normally decided within three months.