A charity which helps adults in Medway improve their reading skills has been awarded a £500 grant from the Medway Lottery.
Read Easy Medway provides free one-to-one confidential reading coaching for adults, aged 18 and above, who struggle to read. The sessions are delivered by trained volunteers and are tailored to meet each individual’s needs.
Around 2.4million of working age in the UK either can’t read, or struggle to. This can impact their job opportunities, personal relationships, mental health and self-esteem, and restricts their involvement in local life and the community.
By providing support Read Easy Medway aims to help transform residents’ lives by helping them improve their reading skills.
The Medway Lottery Community Fund provides grants to charitable organisations and good causes in Medway. The scheme’s funds are topped up on a rolling basis from lottery ticket sales.
Directly supporting people in Medway
Rachel Nelligan, Read Easy Medway's Team Leader, said: “Read Easy Medway is still a young charity and the money from the Medway Lottery is vital to helping us reach adults who struggle with reading. The money we’ve received will be spent on purchasing reading manuals and books that we use to coach our readers and to train our volunteer coaches. We’re thrilled to have received this grant and encourage everyone to participate - it’s a fantastic way to directly support people who live and work in our local area.”
Helping to transform residents' lives
Cllr Teresa Murray, Deputy Leader of Medway Council, said: “I am pleased that Read Easy Medway has received a £500 grant, thanks to the Medway Lottery. Reading is an essential skill and the support the charity offers will help transform our residents’ lives. The Medway Lottery is an exciting way to support local charities, not-for-profit organisations and the voluntary sector. I would encourage good causes to find out more as well as encouraging everyone to join the Medway Lottery, it’s a cost effective way to try for a prize as well as helping our local communities.”
Tickets for the online Medway Lottery cost £1 with 60p going to charities, voluntary organisations and other good causes which work in the area.
Good causes are able to set up their own lottery page and will receive 50p in every pound spent by players who buy tickets from their page. A further 10p in every pound will go into a general Medway good causes fund, with the remainder being put towards prizes and operating costs.
There is a weekly draw, and players over the age of 18, are in with a chance of winning a £25,000 jackpot for a matching sequence of six numbers as well as other prizes including £2,000, £250, £25 or three free tickets.