- Area:
- Wales
- Programme:
- People and Places
- Release date:
- 1 5 2008
Young women in Neath Port Talbot will soon be twirling into action and strutting their stuff down the catwalk to show everyone in their community how they can look good and improve their own lives, while learning new skills and saving the environment.
On Thursday, May 1, young girls and women at YWCA Cwmafan will get glammed up on a budget to proudly host the Recycled Rags Funky Fashion Show. The event is part of a £220,000 project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s (BIG) People and Places programme, which aims to bring people together to make communities stronger and to improve rural and urban environments.
YWCA is the leading charity working with the most disadvantaged girls and young women in England and Wales. In June last year, YWCA Cwmafan received £218,579 from BIG to run the ‘All About Eve’ project, which aims to help young women in the area to develop confidence and skills and become involved in producing and running community projects, workshops and events for other young women. The user led project revolves around subjects that young women facing disadvantage identify as affecting their lives, such as parenthood, unemployment, homelessness, few or no qualifications, school exclusion, domestic abuse, discrimination and rural isolation.
As part of the project, the young women at YWCA Cwmafan have been planning and preparing a fashion show with a difference. All the clothes they will wear on the evening are recycled clothing decorated with recyclable products. The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of recycling and what products can be recycled and where. They will also make a presentation on sustainable living, what people can do to reduce their carbon footprint and how we can help animals by doing this. Some of the artwork they have produced will also be displayed on the evening. The show is a culmination of months of hard work by the women who attend the project.
According to the Project Worker at Cwmafan YWCA, Gail Williams, the project is much more than organising events – it’s a life changing experience for the women involved. One of the key issues facing young women in the area is boredom due to lack of available and accessible services, high unemployment, poverty and isolation. There are also problems with sexual health, substance misuse, low self-esteem and confidence, low educational achievement and limited public transport.
Looking forward to the show, Gail Williams, said: “They have been working really hard on this project, collecting information and researching everything themselves. This project has managed to improve community relations and communication between people from different age groups, backgrounds and cultures. Not only have the girls and young women been involved in the design and running of the programme, they also have the opportunity to have their participation accredited. This will enable them to re-engage in further training, education and employment and help to tackle the high levels of unemployment and poverty in the area.”
Commenting on the positive impact the award has had so far, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member and Chair of the People and Places Committee, Janet Reed, said: “Programmes like People and Places are making a difference to the lives of so many people in communities across Wales. People and Places delivers on our promise to use Lottery funding to regenerate and revitalise communities, tackle disadvantage head on and leave a lasting legacy. This award is already having a positive impact on the lives of many young girls and women in the community and I’m sure it will continue to do so for years to come.”
For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility.
Contact information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 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: 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. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to Good Causes. As a result, over £20 billion has now been raised and more than 250,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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