Twenty community projects in south east London are to receive money from a £2m National Lottery pot of funding, including a social sing-a-long in Lewisham.

The National Lottery is celebrating its 25th birthday by funding local people to "bring their great community ideas to life" this Valentine's, and has awarded money to over 100 projects in London.

The fund invited applications from anyone with an idea to improve or bring together their community to bid for up to £1,000 of funding from a £2 million pot, and has seen 20 local projects in south east London among the lucky recipients.

A project run by Voluntary Services Lewisham has received £800 for what it calls the 'Spring Sing-a-long Social', which will see three groups across Lewisham build up to a big final singing performance.

Similar to another musical project receiving funding in Lambeth, SingFest, the project will draw on the positive effects singing has on mental health such as boosting confidence and morale.

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The groups, which aim to address social isolation, will meet regularly and receive singing lessons in the run-up to their final performance, the Spring Sing-a-long Social.

Bettina Ganser of Voluntary Services Lewisham said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, the singing sessions will bring together socially isolated and vulnerable adults in Lewisham. Their performance at the end of the sessions will show that everyone can shine and that there are many different stars.”

A number of other projects in south London will also receive funding, such as another musical project for Generate, a disability service and support organisation in Earlsfield who want to run monthly discos for their members.

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Jon Eastwood, senior head of Southern region at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “It’s fantastic to see people’s love for their communities inspiring them to use National Lottery funding to make great things happen – we’ve been blown away by all the great ideas.

"#CelebrateNationalLottery25 is supporting a wide variety of projects across the UK this year, all bringing people together to show the huge impact that can come from small ideas.”

The birthday celebration is funded and delivered by The National lottery Community Fund, and marks the culmination of a major campaign by The National Lottery celebrating its impact over the past 25 years and thanking players for contributing £30 million to good causes every week.