Every month, it is estimated that £4.9 million is raised for charities in Scotland

Scotland’s charities are celebrating the help they have received from the lottery – as the competition marks its 25th birthday.

Since 1994, good causes and the third sector has received the equivalent of £1.3 billion in funding from National Lottery players.

In that time, more than more 19,260 charitable projects have been given cash.

Every month, it is estimated that £4.9 million is raised for charities in Scotland.

One organisation to benefit from this is Social Bite, which aims to tackle homelessness through its social enterprise cafes.

Social Bite was founded in 2012 by Josh Littlejohn and Alice Thompson with a business model that encourages entrepreneurs to help solve social problems rather than profiting personally.

It received £557,496 from the National Lottery Community Fund in 2016 for its Social Bite Academy, a skills and employment academy for homeless people.

Richard, 34, is one man to have benefitted from Social Bite’s support.

Having experienced the trauma of homelessness as a child, an adolescent and an adult, Richard was nervous to walk through the doors of the Social Bite café on Glasgow’s St Vincent Street but now, as one of their supported volunteers, he’s glad he did.

He said: “I come here because I want to come here. It’s optional – I could walk away at any time. But I don’t want to walk away. Coming here has made a massive difference. It’s allowed me to see opportunities and take opportunities. I’m still taking baby steps at the moment. But by the third year I’m hoping to have taken enough baby steps to start walking.”

It’s not just Scottish charities celebrating and saying thank you to National Lottery players.

Charities and community groups from across the UK have also been posting crossed finger selfies, with their beneficiaries, volunteers and supporters with #NationalLottery25.

Discover the positive impact the lottery has had on your community over the past 25 years by clicking here.