The National Lottery has launched its Thanks to You campaign to celebrate its 25^th anniversary and Heritage Lincolnshire is thanking players for their vital contribution towards several of its community projects.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund provides crucial funding for community organisations across the UK and is obtained from a percentage of lottery tickets bought by National Lottery players.

The funding is used to help restore neglected historic buildings and sites across the country to unlock their economic potential and improve communities.

Since the first draw took place on 19^th November 1994, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has invested more than £8 billion to support over 44,000 projects across the UK.

Several of these have been run by Heritage Lincolnshire, a charity and buildings preservation trust which works to conserve and enhance the rich heritage of Lincolnshire for the benefit of people who live and work in the area.

Over the last ten years, the charity has benefited from £3.49 million of funding for several of its projects in the county. 

The Old King’s Head in Kirton near Boston, Lincolnshire is one of the projects funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund which has committed £1,987,300 towards the cost of the £2.4 million project. Thanks to the funding, The Old King’s Head is currently being transformed into a luxury B&B, café, deli and community space which will open to the public in the spring of 2020.

The Thanks to You campaign celebrates the extraordinary impact that National Lottery players have had on the lives of people and communities throughout the UK by contributing millions of pounds to good causes every week.

As part of the anniversary celebrations National Lottery ticket holders will be able to benefit from free or discounted entry fees as well as special offers when they show their lottery ticket during a visit to any National Lottery supported project between Saturday 23^rd November and Sunday 1^st December.

Hannah Thompson, Business Development Manager at Heritage Lincolnshire, commented: “The National Lottery Heritage Fund has contributed to several of our projects including our Layers of History project, the Townscape Heritage Scheme and the Landscape Partnerships project, and the funding is also channelled directly into our volunteer groups.

“Through one of our projects, across eight study sites we’ve delivered 90 workshops, recruited 230 volunteers and taught 180 pupils across six schools, providing unique learning experiences to develop the skills, knowledge and tools needed to interpret and record Lincolnshire’s landscape.

“National Lottery tickets are not the only great way to support the work we do to conserve Lincolnshire’s heritage; becoming a member of Heritage Lincolnshire helps us to continue our activities and make a real difference to the local community.”

The Boston Hanse Group – a volunteer group in Boston – has also received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund which has been used to complete a community archaeological dig in Boston.

Eight different schools, multiple cub and scout groups and two adult learning disability groups attended the dig and were given the opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people while uncovering the medieval past of Boston.  

To find out more about The National Lottery, visit: https://www.national-lottery.co.uk/life-changing

To find out more about Heritage Lincolnshire and to keep up to date with the charity’s work, follow Heritage Lincolnshire on Facebook and Twitter or visit: https://www.heritagelincolnshire.org/.