A CHARITY has scooped a huge lottery grant to help fund its community projects.

Positive Action in the Community (PAC) was awarded £420,610 by the Big Lottery Fund as part of the organisation’s efforts to fund large and small projects that strengthen communities.

PAC was granted the money to help sustain the work being carried out across Pendle with victims of domestic abuse with children.

It will enable the charity to provide specialist parenting support to help them overcome the impacts of abuse and the effect it has had on their parenting.

Manager of the project, Claire Bennett, said: “We are absolutely ecstatic, we know that competition is fierce for funding and so to be awarded this amount to address domestic abuse, which can affect anyone, is truly amazing.

“We are now able to offer more support to those affected by it, for the next five years.

“We must also say a huge thank you to all the National Lottery players as without them this funding wouldn’t be available, and I am sure they will all be glad to hear that it has been reinvested locally in Pendle for such an important cause.’

The money will pay for one to one sessions for parents, as well as funding group programmes and peer support, enabling other parents to share their experiences.

It will form part of PAC’s work in helping to rebuild confidence in the parent and strengthen relationships with their child.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson, paid tribute to the Big Lottery Fund, saying the money will help PAC to continue with the fantastic job it does in and around the Pendle area.

He said: “I am delighted the Big Lottery Fund continues to invest in Pendle.

“These awards will help local charities and group tackle some of the challenges we face locally.

“Having visited Positive Action in the Community and having had a group of their young people down to Westminster to discuss homelessness I know what a fantastic job they do.

“I was delighted to see them benefitting for such a substantial sum of money.”

As well as the money given to PAC, an extra £29,490 was awarded to three other community-based projects.

Community Wellbeing was awarded £10,000, which will be used to run mindfulness and stress management sessions for people in the Pendle area in efforts to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the community.

A further £9,990 was awarded to Opportunity Sports Foundation, which will help deliver holiday activity clubs for children and families who have a wide range of disabilities and life limiting conditions.

And £9,500 was granted to Active Lancashire Ltd for their project which aims to encourage children and parents to enjoy physical activities together by using digital wearable technology.

James Harcourt, of the Big Lottery Fund, said: “This project offers vital support to parents affected by domestic abuse.

“Through meeting other people in similar situations and taking part in specialised sessions, parents will be helped to strengthen their relationship with their children whilst regaining their confidence.

“It’s thanks to National Lottery funding we are able to support organisations like Positive Action in the Community, to help tackle serious issues like domestic abuse.”

PAC also works in Burnley and Rossendale on a number of projects which support people to build emotional resilience, improve their emotional health and wellbeing, make positive choices, and improve their education and employment chances and move on to live independent lives.

The Big Lottery Fund distributes over £600million each year to charities and community organisations using money raised from the National Lottery.