Scottish Charity Awards winner celebrates its latest success
A Scottish disabled riding group charity which supports over 100 children and adults with disabilities has been awarded £100,000 to build a new indoor arena.
Ravelrig Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) was awarded the funds from the People's Postcode Lottery via nationwide organisation Riding for the Disabled Association which was given the money to distribute.
The new facility will allow the charity's activities - which currently take place outside throughout the year, even in winter - to be carried out indoors for the first time and will also include a club room, toilets and viewing gallery.
In selecting Ravelrig, our grants panel have identified a great project: well-organised; lots of local support; far-reaching plans and a great vision
Barbara Johnstone of Ravelrig RDA, which was a 2014 Scottish Charity Awards winner, said: “We are delighted to be awarded this grant.
“It has come at a key time to encourage, motivate and boost our development plans.
"We can’t thank players enough for the support they give to RDA – it really does change lives.”
Based in Balerno, Midlothian, Ravelrig currently supports over 100 children and adults with disabilities in the local area.
It recently expanded its activities to support a group of military veterans – a project that was also supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
As well as providing a more effective environment for existing users, having a roof over their heads will allow the group to expand its activities even further, enabling up to 30% more people to benefit from the therapy and fun of horses.
The cheque was presented to the group at RDA’s AGM, where Jo Bucci, managing director of People’s Postcode Lottery gave a presentation about its support of RDA.
“Charities supported by our players can choose exactly how they allocate funds – and this project at Ravelrig is a great example of the amazing difference those funds can make," she said.
Ed Bracher, chief executive of RDA UK, added: “This one off major grant gave us the chance to support a group undertaking a big project, and we were really impressed with the standard of the bids we received.
"In selecting Ravelrig, our grants panel have identified a great project: well-organised; lots of local support; far-reaching plans and a great vision for the future of RDA in the area.”
