The Big Lottery Fund has now distributed £100m of funding through its People and Places scheme in Wales following its latest round of grants.

Last week 16 projects received grants totalling £5,655,857 for community projects across Wales. The People and Places programme was launched in 2005 to encourage community schemes and help those most in need. It awards grants of between £5,001 and £1m.

The largest grant in the latest round of funding was awarded to anti-smoking organisation Ash Wales Ltd, given £864,881 for a project aiming to encourage young people to stop smoking. Oxfam also received over £800,000 for a new venture helping people who are socially excluded.

Big Lottery Fund Wales committee member and chair of the People and Places committee, Gareth Newton, spoke of the importance and lasting results of the scheme. “It’s programmes like People and Places which delivers on our promise to use National Lottery funding to regenerate and revitalise communities, tackle disadvantage head-on and leave a lasting legacy,” said Newton.

Other projects benefitting from the recent round of funding included a support service for families of disabled children, a training and education programme for the homeless and a surplus food redistribution scheme.

View the full list of funding recipients here.