- Area:
- London
- Programme:
- Young People's Fund Grants to Organisations
- Release date:
- 6 2 2007
An East London organisation, Hackney Marsh Partnership, will be spreading the message of reconciliation among young people living in a cycle of violence in Hackney with the announcement today of a Big Lottery Fund grant of £145,155.
Across the capital ten organisations are set to benefit from BIG funding worth over £1 million. Today’s money comes courtesy of BIG’s Young People’s Fund programme: this unique initiative turns young people’s ideas for projects into tangible realities.
Big Lottery Fund Head of London Region, Debbie Pippard, said: "Today’s grants for London show BIG’s commitment to young people - it’s great to see Lottery funds used to invest in young people and provide much needed services and activities. These essential projects – all with young people at the helm - will go a long way towards allowing issues faced by young people to be more widely understood by the general public. I'm also confident that today's funding will improve our communities and enhance the lives of the people that live in them."
The Hackney Marsh Partnership is looking forward using their grant for the ‘Increase the peace’ project, which will bring together young people aged 13 –19 years old from the most deprived wards in Hackney. Young people are the driving force of this project: they will come together from four existing youth clubs - Concorde, Towbridge, Pedro and Frampton Park, to form a steering group to plan, develop and run their own programme of activities.
Young people will be encouraged to take part in sporting and creative arts activities based at the different youth centres - working together to organise a programme of events that will include collaborative tournaments and showcases. This activity will help to address the segregation gang culture and reduce the anti social behaviour existing between the three estates that the youth clubs are based.
Mark Cohoon from The Hackney Marsh Partnership, says: “This funding couldn't have come at a better time; the ‘Increase the peace project’ will enable us to work collaboratively with other local agencies to try and encourage better relations amongst young people who live in different postcodes and for whom travelling outside their area code can be life threatening. In real terms Hackney Marsh Partnership and the Big Lottery Fund can play a pivotal role in creating opportunities for young people to break this cycle of violence themselves.’
Over in South London, the camera lens will be focusing on important issues for teenagers from across the capital through a creative photography project supported by just over £130,000 from BIG. A Clapham-based group, Zoom In, aims to bring together 480 volunteers, aged between 11 and 18 years old, to run photography workshops in disadvantaged areas in London. The project will provide photography training for young people: they will be trained in camera use, IT, developing photographs and learning darkroom skills.
David Marten, Zoom In Project Co-ordinator says: “This financial boost from the Young People’s Fund presents Zoom In with a unique opportunity to reach out to young people in an innovative way. Zoom In has always worked to offer more opportunities in photography, particularly for those who can’t afford expensive photographic equipment or don’t have access to good facilities.
“Through this project we will be linking up with various youth groups including Connexions to run four projects every year for three years. A key element of the project will see the volunteers` pass on their knowledge and increase their self-confidence by training their peers. We welcome this opportunity to boost both our volunteer programme and youth programme as well as extending photographic opportunities.”
South London’s The Suzy Lamplugh Trust encourages people to live self-directed lives by equipping them with skills and strategies for keeping safe. An injection of £28,912 means that the Trust can put a new youth-focused project into action: a small number of young people will be trained to become Peer Educators who will deliver personal safety advise; guidance to their peers about the dangers and personal problems of crime; and anti social behaviour and safety in six London Boroughs. A key component will be continuity - Peer Educators will train more Peer Educators who will continue the work, ensuring that skills remain with the young people in their communities.
Other areas are also set to benefit from Young People’s Fund grants – please see the full list of today’s awards below:
| Organisation | Location | Project | Award |
| Roundabout | Croydon | This project will develop a series of dramatherapy workshops with young people to explore issues such as bullying and transition. | £50,710 |
| Greenwich Islamic Centre | Greenwich | The project is designed to produce initiatives and activities to break down barriers and halt the segregation of Muslim and non Muslim Youths in Greenwich and Woolwich. | £150,000 |
| Windsor Fellowship | Hackney | This project will train 17-18 year olds to peer mentor younger people who are going through the transition from school to college or to employment. The project will target mainly disadvantaged young people from deprived inner city wards, to get the most out of life and develop the key life skills that they need for adulthood. | £122,015 |
| The Suzy Lamplugh Trust | Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth | This project will train young people to become Peer Educators who will then deliver personal safety advice, guidance and information to their peers about the dangers and personal problems of crime, anti social behaviour and safety in six London Boroughs. | £28,912 |
| Blythe Neighbourhood Council | Hammersmith and Fulham | This project will provide a structured programme of diversionary activities to address the rise in anti-social behaviour caused by the unlawful use of mini motorbikes by young people. Specialist motorcycle maintenance workshops, a website, awareness raising events and supervised race days at Swindon raceway will aim to engage with and move disaffected young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour back into education. | £130,099 |
| The Horn Of Africa Community Group | Hammersmith and Fulham | This project will allow disadvantaged young people aged 16-21 to participate in music, drama, and production workshops. They will create shows to perform to the public and produce a CD featuring their own music and discussions about issues they face. | £149,907 |
| Zoom In Ltd | Lambeth | This award will fund young volunteers to run photography workshops in disadvantaged areas in London. The young people will also go on work placements where they will learn vital skills in photography and how to run an arts organisation. | £130,324 |
| Lewisham Education Arts Network | Lewisham | This project will train young people with marketing skills and they will then work with organisations to develop marketing strategies for reaching other young people to inform them of arts and sports events in the area. At the end of each year, the group of young people will present their findings to the Council in order to influence the council to develop its methods of marketing to young people, and also promote the range of arts and sports being offered in the area. | £24,059 |
| Consortium of Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Voluntary & Community | London | The aim of this project is to promote the direct participation of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in decision-making, policy and service development. It will empower young LGBT people to have their voice heard by gaining skills, knowledge and confidence needed. | £148,905 |
| Hackney Marsh Partnership | London | Increase the peace will bring together young people aged 13-19 years old from the most deprived wards in Hackney. They will form a steering group and plan, develop and run their own programme of activities. The aim is to encourage team work and to address the segregation gang culture and anti-social behaviour arising between the three estates in which the youth clubs are based. | £145,155 |
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- The Young People’s Fund in England was launched in September 2004. Funding from the Young People’s Fund open grants programme in England can be accessed through three specific strands: £10 million for applications from individuals, £40 million in grants to voluntary organisations/ partnerships, £27.6 million will go to national organisations for large projects.
- The Big Lottery Fund's Board has agreed to allocate a further £100m to the extension of the Young People's Fund programme in England. The money will be allocated in 2006 following a paper to the Big Lottery Fund’s Board that develops the possible options for the extension. These options will be developed to reflect the learning from our current programmes and to compliment the messages of the DfES Youth Green Paper that is to be published soon.
- The Young People’s Fund aims to put young people at the centre of creating, planning and delivering projects to achieve the following:
- Being healthy: enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle
- Staying safe: being protected from harm and neglect and growing up able to look after themselves
- Enjoying and achieving getting the most out of life and developing the skills for adulthood
- Making a positive contribution: to the community and society and not offending or behaving anti-socially
- Economic wellbeing: overcoming disadvantages to achieve their full potential in life.
- The success criteria for this programme include young people’s involvement at every stage of the project from start to finish and the project delivering on at least, two of the five Young People’s Fund programme aims. To be considered applicants will need to demonstrate how they intend to achieve both of these objectives.
- Big Lottery Fund is the joint operating name of the New Opportunities Fund and the National Lottery Charities Board (which made grants under the name of the Community Fund). The Big Lottery Fund, launched on 1 June 2004, is distributing half of all National Lottery good cause funding across the UK.
- The Big Lottery Fund is building on the experience and best practice of the merged bodies to simplify funding in those areas where they overlap and to ensure Lottery funding provides the best possible value for money. To date, the two merged Funds have committed more than £6 billion to initiatives with national, regional and local partners from the public, voluntary, charity and private sectors, with a particular focus on disadvantage.
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