The regional and country finalists for The National Lottery Awards 2006 have just been announced, and Paws for Kids, a charity supporting children, women and their pets who have suffered from domestic abuse will be competing for your vote against a wide range of Lottery funded initiatives to decide the best UK National Lottery funded projects.

The National Lottery Awards aim to celebrate and recognise the difference that people have made with Lottery funding. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £18.5 billion has been raised for projects across the UK and over 240,000 grants have been given out across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

Bolton based Paws for Kids is a pioneering organisation which aims to relieve the pressures on families escaping domestic violence by providing emergency pet foster care for family pets. Having somewhere safe to take a pet can, in many cases make the difference between someone staying in a violent situation or leaving it. For children who have experienced domestic abuse, pets can often be their sole source of comfort. With the help of a £390,000 Lottery grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Paws for Kids has been able to help 1,200 women and children and over 830 pets since it was established in 1997.

The regional and country Awards shortlist consists of four projects in each English region, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which have been chosen by a panel of high profile judges. The short-listed projects will go head to head in a public vote for the title of their region's or country's National Lottery Project of the Year.

Each of the regional or country winners will earn a place in the UK final, set to be broadcast on national television later this year.

Now Paws for Kids needs your vote to be in with a chance of winning.

The winning project from each of the regions will be chosen by public vote. The project with the most votes in its area will go forward to the UK final to compete against winning projects from other English regions, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

To register your vote for Paws for Kids log on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk and click on National Lottery Awards or call 0845 434 8973. Voting lines are open from now until 11 August 2006. Calls cost no more than 1.5p.

Submitted by: Steve O'Malley      

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