WEST Devon and East Cornwall organisations are this week celebrating cash boosts in the latest round of grants from the National Lottery?s Awards for All scheme. Environmental charity WestDEN has scooped the scheme?s top award of £5,000, which is to be spent on running courses for young people. WestDEN?s Ann Johnson said the organisation was delighted with the award, which will help fund the charity?s Ley of the Land project. Mrs Johnson said: ?It?s going to help provide training courses for young people aged 16-30 who live in West Devon, in rural skills type of activities. We will be concentrating on things like stone walling and tree maintenance work, that kind of thing. ?It will also give some support as well in trying to improve their skills base and give them a more sustainable future.? The Ley of the Land project is one of WestDEN?s longest running and most successful schemes ? since it started in 1997, more than 600 young people have accessed the scheme. Gunnislake Cricket Club has been awarded £4,950, which will enable the club to buy materials and construct an outdoor practise area, with nets, matting and a practise cage. And the Tavistock Music Live group has been awarded £4,900, enabling it to hold a series of special music workshops throughout 2005. Peter Jones, chairman of Tavistock Music Live, said: ?We?re chuffed to bits, very pleased indeed. Basically, 50% will go towards a weekend music festival this year and 50% will go towards the workshops, which will be for jazz, classical, rock, African drumming, which will be open to people of all ages, designed to get more people into music.? Mr Jones said originally the TML committee hoped to hold the festival during the same weekend as Plymouth Symphony Orchestra perform at Tavistock College on June 18 ? it may now be too late to organise the event for this weekend, but it will happen this year, with the intention of building on the festival in successive years. ?Ultimately, I would love to see an outside weekend festival happening ? but it?s going to take a lot of money,? said Mr Jones. He said Tavistock Music Live was currently going from strength to strength ? though the committee could do with ?a few more Indians?. ?We?ve got a lot of chiefs but we could do with help for things like standing on doors, helping with furniture, promoting youth music ? people who feel they have some time but don?t want to get involved with committees,? he said. Awards for All senior officer Steve Barriball said: ?These awards, which help people in every corner of the region, are not particularly large as Lottery grants go, but they can have an enormous impact on local communities.? To obtain an application pack, call 0845 600 2040 or visit http://www.awardsforall.org.uk">www.awardsforall.org.uk Anyone who would like to get involved with Tavistock Music Live should visit http://www.tavistockmusiclive.co.uk">www.tavistockmusiclive.co.uk
