DID you know that every week Lottery players raise an incredible £25m for good causes?

This money is making a massive difference to people and their communities, helping thousands of projects and organisations across the UK.

In the last year Yorkshire and Humberside received over £60m pounds of Lottery cash.

But people aren’t always aware of the Lottery-funded projects in their local area or the dedication and thousands of volunteer hours that go into making them a success.

The National Lottery Awards, now entering their fifth successful year, are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects.

The awards recognise the difference that projects big and small make to local communities.

They are a way to celebrate all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, and to say thank you to the people who work so tirelessly to ensure their communities can enjoy and benefit from them.

One such project is the Yorkshire Sculpture Park at West Bretton, near Wakefield, which was shortlisted in the Best Environment Project class last year.

The sculpture park is an international open-air centre for modern and contemporary sculpture that sets out to challenge, inspire, inform and delight.

Its 500 acres of historic gardens and parkland were designed in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Today this stunning setting brings together art and nature for visitors to discover and enjoy.

In 1999 Lottery funding enabled the park to buy 237 acres of land, along with a series of outbuildings that needed renovation.

The subsequent development enabled the former barns and stables to become gallery space, studios and workshops.

The new Longside Gallery is a magnificent 615 square metre space that hosts a series of challenging and exciting exhibitions by international artists, which visitors enjoy year-round.

So if you know of, or are involved in, a Lottery-funded project and you want to enter it in the awards this year visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk to find out more.

Nominations can be made either online or by calling 0845 130 4133, and must be received by 5pm on March 20.

Alternatively, if you’d like to find out more about projects in your area, examples are featured online.

Lending her support to the awards this year, Andrea McLean, GMTV and Loose Women presenter, says: “Some 28p of every Lottery pound goes towards good causes, which means Lottery players are making a huge difference to the lives of individuals and communities across the UK.

“I was amazed by the stories of some truly remarkable people who are using Lottery funding for projects of all sizes to make the UK a better place to live.

“The awards recognise the talent, hard work and dedication of people involved in running projects.

“Now it’s your chance to make sure your favourite gets the recognition it deserves.”

There are seven categories in the awards, each reflecting an area of Lottery funding.

They are sport, heritage, arts, environment, health and education and the Woman magazine’s voluntary/charity class.

Any shortlisted projects from West Yorkshire will have to compete against projects from all over the UK to go through to the finals.

The seven category winners will be announced later in the year on a special BBC 1 programme. Each winner will also receive £2,000 to spend on their project.

The awards were launched yesterday with a call for nominations and entries. All calls are charged at a BT local landline cost of 1.5p. Voting via the website is free.

The first round of public voting will open on June 16, with a deadline of 4 July

A second round of public voting will take place between July 21 and August 8 and the winners will be announced during the special BBC 1 programme

Voting will be independently verified by Electoral Reform Services

Photo of last year’s Award winners and the ceremony are available on request

Since the Lottery began in 1994 players have raised £20bn for good causes

For more information on the good causes or the awards visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk

The figures are based on the financial year April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2007.

1 Figures based on financial year running 01 April 2006 - 31 March 2007