Altogether Better received enough votes from the public to beat off competition from all around the UK and will now go up against two other finalists – Sense Scotland and Surf Action CIC in Penzance - for the title of the UK’s Best Health Project.
 
Altogether Better is a programme of 16 projects that recruit, train and support ‘Community Health Champions’ across Yorkshire and the Humber. Community Health Champions are local people who use their own unique skills, knowledge and experience to motivate and support others to improve their health and well-being.
 
The Rotherham-based Mind Your Own Business project is part of Altogether Better.  Its aim is to improve the mental wellbeing of Rotherham employees through targeted work with employers and increase awareness of the impact poor mental health can have in the workplace and promote positive attitudes towards employing people with a history of mental health problems.
 
Jessica Wilson, Mental Health Promotion Specialist and Mind Your Own Business Lead, said: “Getting through to the final is a fantastic achievement and the television coverage will be a great opportunity to publicise both the work that is happening locally and that of the other fantastic projects across the region.”
 
Altogether Better Programme Manager, Mandy Driver, said:  “Thank you to everyone who has voted for us, we are over the moon to be in the finals and we hope to build on this success to ensure that community empowerment is at the heart of happy and healthy communities across our country.”
 
This year’s National Lottery Awards are supported by television presenter Julia Bradbury.  She says: “It’s brilliant to see such an inspiring range of Lottery-funded projects - large and small - make it through to final stage of The National Lottery Awards.  Lottery players raise £28 million a week for Good Causes and all of the finalists have shown how they’ve used their Lottery funding to make a real difference in their communities. Anyone that has ever played the Lottery should feel very proud to know their money has helped support fantastic projects such as these.”
 
There are seven categories in the Awards, which reflect the main areas of Lottery funding: arts, sport, heritage, health, environment, education (in association with Best magazine) and voluntary/charity. There will be one winner in each category which will be decided by a final round of public voting in the autumn. The winning project in each of the categories will receive national recognition at a star-studded event later this year, broadcast on BBC One, as well as a £2,000 cash prize[1] to spend on their project. For more information on the Awards finalists visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards


Notes to Editors:

• Altogether Better Programme received £6,800,000 of Lottery funding from Big Lottery Fund.
• All voting was independently adjudicated and verified by Electoral Reform Services.
• Semi- Finals: There were a total of 70 projects in the semi-finals - 10 in each of the seven categories – which ran from 31st May to 20th June.
• Finals: There will be a total of 22 projects in the finals - three in each of the categories, with the exception of the Arts category which, due to a tie for third place in the semi-final round, four projects instead of three will go through to the final public voting round.
• There will be only one winner in each category. The seven winners will be announced during a special BBC One television programme transmitted later in the year.
• The public will be able to vote for the overall winner from 2nd September 2011.

[1] NB: This is not a Lottery grant. All projects have already received Lottery funding and this cash prize is in addition to the Lottery money they have already been awarded

For further information please contact The National Lottery Promotions Unit:
Charlotte Corsan, charlotte.corsan@lotterygoodcauses.org.uk, 020 7211 3991