- Area:
- Wales
- Programme:
- Young People's Fund Make it Happen
- Release date:
- 23 7 2007
Vulnerable youngsters and young people with disabilities in Wales will have an opportunity to participate in a range of activities and learn valuable new skills, thanks to a cash injection of nearly £30,000 from the Big Lottery Fund to seven projects developed by young people.
The projects will share in a total of £29,877 awarded through the Make It Happen strand of the Young People’s Fund programme, which helps make positive changes to young people aged 10–19 years old in Wales.
The money will help provide activities for vulnerable and disabled youngsters and those living in rural areas. Some projects will focus on developing new skills while others will provide new opportunities that many would otherwise be unable to enjoy.
With the £4,688 Barnardo’s in Neath Port Talbot will run a project to provide an activity holiday for vulnerable young people aged 10-19 years old from Neath, while Brecknock Women’s Aid Ltd in Brecon, Powys, will spend £1,650 on a project to provide young people between 10 - 16 years old living in refuge with outdoor activities.
In a project covering the whole of Wales, the Wales Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs will spend £4,990 to enable youngsters from rural areas across Wales to participate in outdoor activities and provide them with the opportunity to voice their opinions and contribute to shaping the future of the organisation. Also running a project to help youngsters in the rural community is the Peniel Community Association in Carmarthenshire. The group will spend £4,915 to run a youth club in Peniel, which was previously provided by the Local Authority Youth Service.
Projects to develop new skills take centre stage in Blaenau Gwent and Wrexham. A grant of £5,000 will allow Tillery Action For Youth in Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, to host a day of participative workshops for young people. The day will allow young people to try new ideas and activities, develop new skills and increase their awareness of the local youth forums, clubs and opportunities.
In Wrexham, North Wales, Barnardo’s will also run a project to enable young people to learn new skills in DVD editing, and produce DVDs to share their experiences and voice their opinions around specific issues. In neighbouring Denbighshire, Barnardo’s will also spend £5,000 to enable members of 'Barnardo's United, the disability youth forum, to spend a weekend away at an accessible activity centre.
Highlighting the importance of the Make it Happen programme, the Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee member and Chair of the Young People’s Fund Committee, Mike Theodoulou, said: “The projects will provide youngsters with an opportunity to learn valuable new lessons, be creative, develop new and exciting skills and express themselves in a safe environment. The message these grants send to other groups is clear: If you think that between £500 and £5,000 in cash can help your group develop a range of skills and take part in a variety of activities, then get your application in to BIG.”
For further information about the projects, and contact details for the groups and organisations involved, please contact the Big Lottery Fund Wales press office by email or on the numbers below.
For further information about the Young People’s Fund and how your group can apply for funding, log onto the Big Lottery Fund website at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility. Alternatively, you can telephone the Big Lottery Fund office on 01686 611 700.
Further information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102 030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £1 million a week in Lottery good cause money, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across Wales most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
- The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.
- On 1 December 2006 the Big Lottery Fund was officially established by Parliament and at the same time assumed the residual responsibilities of the dissolved National Lottery Charities Board (Community Fund) the New Opportunities Fund, and the Millennium Commission. The. 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.
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