They Came They Stayed

Caribbean Heritage Project in Awards Semi Final

Croydon-based project, They Came They Stayed, from The Cause 2000, goes head to head with other Lottery-funded projects from across the UK in the semi-finals of The National Lottery Awards 2010.

They Came They Stayed, is a film which portrays the experiences and challenges of people who migrated from the Caribbean to Britain during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Teenage descendants of this generation were taught the art of interviewing and filmmaking before producing the film which enabled them to connect to their heritage whilst bridging the generational gap.

They Came They Stayed is one of only 10 projects to make it through to the Best Heritage Project category of The National Lottery Awards, which are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects. All the projects in the running have already received Lottery funding and the Awards celebrate how they have put that money to good use. People in Croydon are being urged to show their support by casting a vote to help They Came They Stayed make it through to the final stage.

The winning project in each of the seven categories will receive national recognition on a star-studded BBC 1 TV show later this year and, in addition to the Lottery funding they have already been awarded, will receive a £2,000 cash prize[1] to spend on their project.

Mac McKenzie, founder of The Cause 2000, says of the They Came They Stayed film project: "We are delighted to have reached the semi-finals of the National Lottery Awards. With the help of Lottery funding we were able to bridge the generation gap by getting young people of Caribbean origin to explore their heritage through debate with their elders, a process captured by this evocative film. We really hope that the public votes for this project as it would be great to get national recognition for the important work we do at a local level."

This year's National Lottery Awards are supported by actress Fay Ripley, who attended the Awards show last year. She says: "Lottery players raise £25 million every week, which funds projects and organisations that are making a real difference to people and communities across the UK. The National Lottery Awards recognise the amazing talent and hard work of the people involved in running Lottery-funded projects, so please get behind your local project and vote to give them your support."

About The National Lottery Awards

The National Lottery Awards recognise the difference that Lottery-funded projects - both big and small - make to local communities, and celebrate the achievements of the people behind them. The Awards have seven categories - each reflecting an area of Lottery funding: sport; heritage; arts; environment; education; health (in association with iVillage.co.uk) and voluntary/charity (in association with Woman magazine).

Voting for the semi-finals ends at midday on Friday 18 June. To cast a vote for The Cause 2000's They Came They Stayed call 0844 686 3017 or log on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards

The three projects in each category with the highest number of votes will go through to the final round of public voting in July.

Semi- Finals· There are a total of 70 projects in the semi-finals - 10 in each of the seven categories. The public can vote from 9am on 1 June and any vote cast before midday on 18 June will be counted

· The three projects with the most votes in each category will go through to the final round of public voting

Finals

· There will be a total of 21 projects in the finals - three in each of the seven categories. The public can vote from 9am on 26 July and any vote cast before midday on 13 August will be counted

· There will be only one winner in each category. The seven winners will be announced during a special BBC 1 television programme transmitted later in the year.