A COMMUNITY project set up to help women in County Durham is celebrating after being awarded almost half a million pounds in lottery funding.

Aspire Learning, Support and Wellbeing, based at the rear of Front Street, in Chester-le-Street, will get funding of just over £499,000 from the Big Lottery Fund to set up and manage the group’s Supporting Sisters project over the next five years.

The cash will help Aspire offer a range of specialist support, health and wellness services for women, as well as funding additional jobs and volunteering opportunities to support the project.

It will also provide the funding to make Aspire’s on-site crèche more widely available.

The grant comes from the Big Lottery Fund’s new Women and Girls Initiative, which aims to support women and girls in need, or at risk of experiencing a wide variety of complex issues.

Aspire director Janice Rokni, said: “We are thrilled to be a part of a new and exciting initiative that supports women and girls taking control of their lives”.

She added: “This funding will allow us to reach many more local women and help them to determine, access and shape the services they need and want.”

Aspire has been supporting local women through education courses and wellbeing services at their Chester-le-Street base, and in community venues throughout the surrounding area, since 2012.

For further information, please contact Aspire on 0191 389 1504 or alternatively email enquiries@aspire-northeast.co.uk.