Pukar Disability Resource Centre Secures National Lottery Grant to Transform Lives across Preston
Pukar Disability Resource Centre is delighted to announce it has been awarded award from The National Lottery Community Fund’s Reaching Communities Programme, securing the future of its vital services for the next five years. Pukar supports people who are disadvantaged and socially isolated due to disability and limited English language skills. For more than 26 years, the organisation has been a lifeline for disabled adults and their family carers from diverse communities, helping them to build confidence, independence and connection.
Current services provided by Pukar include English language classes, IT workshops, a Job Club, wellbeing and confidence-building sessions, and one-to-one support delivered through a daily Drop-In Centre, a safe learning space for adults, volunteering opportunities for people to improve their skills and personal development. With this new funding, Pukar will expand its work to raise awareness of non-visible disabilities, support and develop disability user-led groups, supporting disabled victims of hate crime and create a community allotment to promote wellbeing, social inclusion and stronger community connections. These initiatives aim to improve overall wellbeing, foster a positive “can-do” mind-set, and prevent crisis situations before they arise.
Younus Khan, Service Development Manager said: “We were having to using reserves to continue to provide services since July. We’re absolutely delighted that The National Lottery Reaching Community Fund has recognised the impact of our work. This funding allows us to support new people, build on our strong foundations, broaden opportunities for disabled people and carers from diverse communities, and continue our mission to Empower, Enable and educate. We receive positive feedback from people who have accessed services and support All the trustees, staff and volunteers appreciate the support to enable us to continue services.
The National Lottery Community Fund awarded over half a billion pounds (£686.3 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, supporting over 13,700 projects to turn their great ideas into reality. As part of this, the funder has four key missions, which are to support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.
