Croydon and Southwark projects get thousands to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year

Two community groups have been given thousands of pounds to celebrate the Queen’s 50 years on the throne this year.

Thanks to a £49,000 grant, Motivez will raise awareness of air pollution in the community with its Sustainable Southwark project.

It has been set up in response to the passing of local nine-year-old, Ella Kissi-Debrah, in 2013, who was the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as the cause of their death.

To help tackle pollution issues in south London, young people, aged 13 to 16, will team up with local engineers to develop solutions to this growing problem, where they will learn employability skills and build intergenerational relationships.

Sustainable Southwark will launch with a community barbecue on Saturday 4 June – one of many get togethers across the capital that bank holiday weekend.

Croydon Refugee Community has been awarded £50,000 to bring together people from ethnic minority communities to celebrate their heritage, cultural traditions and dishes, as a way of marking the Platinum Jubilee.

This will create connections across generations, cultures, languages and walks of life to share skills and learn from each other, reducing loneliness and isolation and improving wellbeing.

Zeinab Nuh, Director at Croydon Refugee Community, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding and would like to thank The National Lottery Community Fund. The project will mark Platinum Jubilee legacy by bringing people from all sections of the community together for a traditional food exhibition, including music and dance.”

The funding has been awarded from The Platinum Jubilee Fund, which was launched in November last year as a £3.5 million programme with grants of up to £50,000 available to 70 organisations, celebrating Her Majesty’s 70 years of public service.

As the Platinum Jubilee forms part of #Celebrate2022, a significant year of celebration and national pride, The National Lottery Community Fund has committed an additional £1 million to a further 22 community groups to ensure as many people as possible can come together to mark this momentous occasion.

Blondel Cluff CBE, Chair of The National Lottery Community Fund and Chair of the UK Funding Committee, said: “We are proud to play a key role in this momentous year of celebration across the United Kingdom. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are supporting organisations up and down the country that are making a great difference and bringing purpose and pride to their communities.

“It is these community groups that perfectly encapsulate the spirit of this Platinum Jubilee year, by creating a legacy of positive change that allows people to prosper and thrive.”