York Civic Trust has been awarded £249,999 from The  National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver a series of events celebrating the city's heritage.

The York Trailblazers project promises to be an exciting and inclusive city-wide programme of events and activities across 2023 – 25.

Shaped around significant anniversaries, Trailblazers aims to inspire residents and visitors on York’s collective history and empower new generations to create and discover new interpretations of our heritage.  

The activities funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund will enable York Civic Trust, Make It York and partners to uncover lesser-known heritage stories of York through workshops, sculpture trail, community grant funding, partner events and marketing. 

York Civic Trust and Make It York will develop and deliver the project together, leading on their areas of expertise within culture, community and heritage in York.

A mix of 40 organisations, from small voluntary groups to big institutions, supported York Civic Trust and Make It York’s bid to make Trailblazers a reality. The project is made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.  

Andrew Morrison, Chief Executive Officer at York Civic Trust, said: “Our project York Trailblazers will be a fantastic opportunity for people to discover and celebrate the heritage stories of people who are important to their communities.

"The National Heritage Lottery Fund's support of our project is an incredible boost and will enable the project to reach out to all parts of the city.” 

Helen Apsey, Head of Culture & Wellbeing at Make It York, said: "A huge thank you to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and to all the organisations who have come together to support our bid - we're absolutely thrilled to have been awarded the funding for York Trailblazers.

"It will make such a difference, and enable Make It York and York Civic Trust to develop a really meaningful celebration of our history and heritage across 2023 - 25, working with partners across the city, and engaging with residents, schools and community groups. We've got a lot of activity planned, so watch this space!"   

Anne Jenkins, Executive Director of Business Delivery at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are thrilled to be able to support York Civic Trust and Make It York in celebrating and exploring the significant heritage that their city is home to. 

"Thanks to National Lottery players, this project will allow local communities to delve into the varied history of their city and help others discover stories they haven’t heard before. 

"York is home to fascinating heritage and we know it is a great way of bringing people together and creating a sense of pride of place, that in turn can deliver much wider benefits, and we’re excited to see how this project achieves just that.”