Scottish athlete driving social impact as recipient of Allwyn ChangeMakers grant

Robyn Love, who will be driving social impact in Scotland after receiving funding from the new operator of The National Lottery, said: "Being part of the ChangeMakers initiative is something I'm so proud of and it is giving me the opportunity to grow something I truly believe in.

“The ‘Love Wheelchair Basketball ’ programme is all about creating a supportive space where women and girls with disabilities can build confidence, connect with others, and realise just how powerful they are - both on and off the court.

“Our first session was amazing, with 30 participants and four incredible coaches, and I can’t wait to build on that.

Tess Howard, one of the other 15 athletes who will also receive funding like Love, put on a session for school children as she launched the announcement of the recipients of the ChangeMaker fund.

“A huge thank you to Allwyn, UK Sport and ParalympicsGB for backing this vision and helping me reach more people through something so close to my heart.”

The ChangeMaker grant will allow Robyn to develop the provision of 'The Love Handles' programme - the programme exists to empower women and girls with disabilities to realise their full potential and enhance their confidence both on and off court.

She will join fifteen current and former National Lottery funded athletes to receive grants of up to £10,000 to support their activity across a range of causes from the improvement of health and wellbeing, supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion to driving environmental sustainability.

ChangeMakers is a partnership between Allwyn, UK Sport, Team GB and ParalympicsGB launched in 2024 as part of Allwyn’s commitment to having a positive social impact which sees the National Lottery operator commit £1M annually to its Social Value Fund.

The grants are the next step in the ChangeMaker initiative which is made of three elements to enable and empower athletes to deliver social impact for the causes and communities which are important to them.

Firstly, after the Paris Olympics and Paralympics more than 130 athletes committed to go back into communities across the country to support grassroots projects they are passionate about.

The second element – enables athletes to apply for grants to support their personal projects – with the successful recipients being launched today with the third strand being a special Changemaker ‘Powered By Purpose’ cohort.

This is a UK Sport programme which provides athletes with the skills, knowledge and confidence to turn success on the field of play into long-term positive impact for communities.

Andria Vidler, CEO of National Lottery Operator, Allwyn, added: “The ChangeMaker grants from Allwyn’s Social Value Fund will enable these inspiring athletes to make a real difference to the causes and communities which matter most to them.

“Their passion extends beyond sport and I am proud that through Allwyn’s commitment to having a positive social impact, we can support to them to take the next step.

“These grants represent our belief that athletes can be powerful catalysts for change both on and off the field of play.”

Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport, said: “The National Lottery continues to be the biggest champion of sport at all levels in the UK, and it’s wonderful to see Allwyn, as operator of The National Lottery, enabling our athletes to go even further and use their voice and platforms to power positive change for people, communities and the planet.​”

The grants are split into two types; a ‘Try It’ fund which helps athletes who have a social impact idea and want to test its viability and impact, and a ‘Scale It’ fund, to support athletes who have a pre-existing social impact initiative that requires more support to take it the next level.

For further information on Allwyn, The National Lottery and its games, please visit: www.allwyn.co.uk and www.national-lottery.co.uk