Sport and physical activity projects are officially most rife in Swansea, as it has today been proclaimed as the first local authority to receive its 1000^th Community Chest grant offer - the only county to reach the landmark target in Wales to date.

Since the inception of the Sports Council for Wales’ Community Chest scheme in 1999, communities across the length and breadth of Wales have been investing heavily in sports and physical activity projects.

In its short history, the lottery funded grant aid scheme has distributed just over £510,000 to 1000 projects across Swansea. And the record figures are demonstrating the growing potency of the Community Chest scheme, towards expanding physical activity projects across Wales. To date, it has seen a total £7, 243, 987 cash influx into the health of the nation, aiding all 22 local authorities in Wales.

Initially, grants were awarded to sports clubs and sporting bodies, but the scope of the scheme has been widened to support public and private organisations who seek to develop physical activity and sporting projects.

The Community Chest has been infiltrating additional areas of work such as the voluntary sector (e.g. Voluntary Youth Clubs, Women’s Institute) and the workplace, as well as continuing to support projects in the health and education arenas. So while funding the local football club might be getting the younger members of the community moving, backing a walking group is encouraging more adults to get active.

As a result of the popularity and undoubted success of the scheme, the Sports Council for Wales recently raised the level of grant, enabling organisations keen to develop sport & physical activity in Wales to receive up to £1000 for a qualifying project over a 12 month period.

Swansea Council Sports Development Officer, Natalie Thomas credits the scheme with making a big change in the area. She said:

"In Swansea, the grant increase has been an important change. Clubs can really utilise the money to develop their members and increase levels of physical activity and local organisations are creating projects to help feed people into that.

"For example, a Community Chest grant was used to recruit a qualified gym instructor for people suffering from or affected by HIV/AIDS. Primarily it’s helping HIV sufferers overcome the barriers which might otherwise prevent them from enjoying quality of life. But it’s also helping to get people more active and creating a pathway for more people into clubs."

Chair of the Sports Council for Wales, Philip Carling said:

"Community Chest has been and continues to be a huge success and is very popular throughout Wales. The increase in funding and the greater scope of the scheme will increase its effectiveness.

"Panels based in each of the 22 local authorities in Wales hold the purse strings and have delegated authority to award grants to worthwhile projects. We want to hear of bright ideas and projects that will get more people active more often."