Two Athlone groups win county National Lottery Good Causes Awards

Athlone Sub Aqua Club and Athlone River Safety Awareness are the two Westmeath groups announced as county winners in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards 2022.

The awards were created to honour and showcase the inspiring work being carried out by thousands of projects, clubs and individuals in their local communities across Ireland thanks to National Lottery Good Causes funding. Nearly 30 cent of every euro spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes all over the country.

Announcing the county winners, National Lottery CEO, Andrew Algeo, said: “The stories and insights that we read in this year’s entries truly exemplified the positive impact that the groups, sports clubs and organisations who receive National Lottery funding, are having in towns and villages all over Ireland. Celebrating the inspirational work being carried out by these extraordinary beneficiaries and recognising the effect that they have on their communities is exactly what the Good Causes Awards are all about.”

The National Lottery CEO went on to describe how significantly more individuals, charities, groups, projects and organisations all over Ireland could benefit from Good Causes funding if a ban on lottery betting were to be introduced.

“Our ambition is to do more for communities all over Ireland and we hope that soon, this will become a reality. If the practice of betting on lottery games were to be finally banned in Ireland, as it is in most EU countries, our research shows that National Lottery sales would increase by at least €228 million which would result in approximately €63 million in additional funding for the Good Causes fund which would have a huge impact on communities all over Ireland. Last year, Benefacts established that 34% of all charitable giving in Ireland in 2021 was attributable via the National Lottery. We believe that even more charitable and community groups would directly benefit if a ban on lottery betting was put in place.”

The Westmeath winners are:

Athlone Sub Aqua Club – Sport

The Athlone Sub Aqua Club is a sports diving club as well as a well-established search and recovery unit. The club provides training and has members of all ages who enjoy snorkelling and diving all year round. Good Causes funding received through the Sports Capital Programme in 2021 went towards the repair of the club’s specialised equipment which is used in the dedicated search, rescue and recovery vessel.

Athlone River Safety Awareness – Community

The Athlone River Safety Awareness group aims to raise awareness of water safety in the Athlone urban area. Their trained first responders attend when an emergency occurs on the river. The National Lottery grant they received from the HSE went towards their goal of purchasing the first Water Drones in Ireland. They are currently training the local Gardai and local night-time economy staff in the use of all their equipment including the drones, which means people in difficulty in the water now stand a much better chance of survival.

The awards, which culminates in a Gala Awards Dinner in Kildare on Saturday 1st October, has seven main categories: Sport, Health & Wellbeing, Heritage, Arts & Culture, Community, Youth and Irish Language.

The 118 County Finalists will now compete for a place in the National Finals judging phase next month, after which the 35 National Finalists will be announced.

The total prize fund for the Good Causes Awards is €130,000 and each of the 35 finalists will win €1,000 when they are announced in June. At the awards ceremony in October, each of the seven category winners will receive €10,000 and the overall Good Cause of the Year will take home an additional €25,000.