WORKING TOGETHER: Kendall Turner and Claudia Winkleman
A community flower garden in Sheffield will light up the big screen as it becomes the first to feature in a series of stunning films from The National Lottery.
Bloom, a community flower garden for women and non-binary people, was visited by Claudia Winkleman to create an emotional film, which will be shown in cinemas and online nationwide.
The films reveal the difference that is made to people’s lives each time someone buys a National Lottery ticket.
Kendall Turner, one of the directors of Bloom, said: “Claudia is the first celebrity I’ve ever met.
“When we took over the allotments six years ago, there were no roofs on any of the buildings and the weeds were taller than me.
So, to have Claudia Winkleman in our little shed just felt crazy!”
Thanks to National Lottery players, Bloom has received £269k in funding across the past four years, enabling hundreds of women and non-binary people to take care of their mental health and wellbeing, learn about flowers and gardening and feel less isolated.
PLACE TO GROW: Bloom is somewhere people can go to feel less isolated and improve their mental health
Claudia said: “Everyone plays to be in with a chance of winning a life-changing prize, but we are revealing the unwritten story of the difference National Lottery funding makes in every community in every corner of the country.
“Meeting Kendall and seeing the amazing work that Bloom does for the community brought that alive for me, and I cannot put into words the gratitude and happiness, I saw at every single project.
“I want to share with the nation a small insight into the difference you make each and every time you buy a ticket – thank you, this is all made possible because of you.”
When Kendall started Bloom Sheffield in 2019, she was 24 and working as a special educational needs (SEN) teacher, a job she found “incredibly challenging”.
She added: “I was struggling with my mental health as I’d just moved to Sheffield
and didn’t really have any friends or a network that could support me.”
Spending an hour every evening on an allotment helped Kendall relax. “I decided that everyone should have the opportunity to reap the benefits of being outside and gardening,” she said.
“I took over an allotment in the heart of Sheffield and organised a little community gardening session that three people turned up to. We just kept going and have developed enormously since then.”
Nowadays, Bloom Sheffield has two community gardens where women and non-binary people can learn gardening skills and two production gardens where it grows the flowers it sells in its shop.
Proceeds from the flower sales are reinvested directly into the project.
Bloom Sheffield has more than 60 volunteers and, in a typical week, about 70 women and non-binary people attend its community sessions, therapeutic workshops and mum-and-toddler groups.
Kendall is a firm believer in the mental health benefits of gardening. “Growing something from a seed and selling it really builds self-esteem,” she explained.
“It’s really empowering. It’s also great to have an activity that’s collaborative
but doesn’t require you to talk if you don’t want to.
“There’s no pressure to speak, but you can relax and open up if you choose to.”
National Lottery support has played a crucial role in helping Bloom Sheffield blossom.
Kendall said: “This is funding for core costs, and it’s really helped us with our consistency; to know that we’ll be open for another three years, knowing
we’ll be able to deliver and that we have the space to grow, literally and figuratively.
“It’s totally changed the game for us and we’re so incredibly grateful.”
In her role as ambassador-in-chief, Claudia will continue to champion the inspiring stories and incredible people across the country whose lives have been transformed by National Lottery funding.
Claudia will be working with The National Lottery to tell these stories as part of a long-term partnership.
The unique films showcase the difference National Lottery funding is making to grassroots projects supporting the arts, communities, heritage, and sport.
Claudia will be accompanying a local National Lottery player to reveal the life-changing impact made possible every time they play.
Since National Lottery funding began in 1994, more than 650,000 projects have been funded with the astonishing £50bn raised by players with a little pink ticket or scratchcard.
Every week, on average, National Lottery players raise more than £30m, which enables hundreds of projects to receive funding in every postcode area across the country.
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire