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£230,000 invested in youth
Three hugely successful local youth projects have received a major cash
boost.
Lowton & Golborne Youth Club, WISH (Women In Sexual Health) and
Westleigh Basketball Club have been awarded over £125,000 between them
from the Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF) and the Youth Capital Fund (YCF).
The Government has created both funding streams to improve existing
youth facilities and to give young people better places to go and more
things to do. Wigan Borough was allocated £300,000 to spend in the
2006/07 financial year. Over £230,000 of that money has been allocated
to youth groups and organisations this week, with Lowton & Golborne
Youth Club the greatest beneficiary, receiving £88,350 for a major
refurbishment and more equipment.
The youth club began life more than 50 years ago, and in recent times it
has become a real hub of youth activity. Sports, arts, crafts, informal
education, fundraising and a whole lot more have been going on thanks to
the young people who run the club’s board, youth club volunteers and
Wigan Council Children & Young People’s Services staff.
However, in recent years the club has badly needed funds to renovate its
Newton Road base. Now a £88,350 YCF grant will be used to overhaul the
dilapidated building, making it safe and accessible for all young people
in the local area. The money will be used to fit a kitchen, disabled
toilets and new heating and security systems. An old garage joined on to
the youth club will also be converted into a music studio.
more.
Youth Worker Tony Russell said: “This is absolutely great news. The
young people who run the club put a great deal of energy, enthusiasm and
commitment into it. Now they’re going to have a building worthy of their
dedication.”
Westleigh Basketball Club received £20,000 from the YOF and YCF. The
award is the basketball side’s third major achievement in a matter of
days, after the team was named Club of the Year and coach Sharon Seaton
was named Coach of the Year at the Wigan Borough Sports Awards last
week.
Part of the grant will cover the club’s costs for a year, paying for
court fees, training, kit and to help young people gain coaching and
officiating badges. The remainder of the money will be used to develop
basketball in Wigan Borough. Primary school and junior leagues will be
established, more girls will be encouraged to take up the sport and
Westleigh will enter a team into the under-18s national league.
Coach Sharon Seaton said: “The club has grown a lot since it was set up
in 2001. This grant will allow us to establish basketball in Wigan
Borough even further. The new leagues will get more young people playing
the sport and having a team in the under-18s National League, which is a
very good standard, will give the young players a real goal to aim for.”
The WISH project has given over 2000 young women health and lifestyle
advice since it was established in 1996. WISH has received £20,000 to
renovate and re-sign the Well Women Centre where the service is based on
Church Street in Leigh. Part of the money will also be used to fund
activities both within and outside the centre for the WISH Girls’ Group.
In total, 34 Wigan Borough youth projects received £233,500 from the YOF
and YCF. The Government is to allocate another £300,000 to meet the
needs of young people in Wigan Borough in 2007/08, with another £65,000
being carried over from this year’s fund.
In Wigan, grants are allocated from the two funds by a youth panel and
the process is overseen by the Wigan Council for Voluntary Youth
Services (WCVYS). The youth panel, which is made up of a cross section
of young people living in Wigan Borough, gave up around 20 hours of
their own time to decide which projects should be funded.
WCVYS Youth Development Officer Kelly Mills said: “The panel had to make
some quite difficult decisions and we’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to
all of them for all their time and effort. Thanks to them other young
people in Wigan Borough are going to have better places to go and more
things to do.”
All young people and youth groups can apply to the YOF and the YCF in
2007/08. To find out how to apply, or for further information, please
telephone Kelly Mills on (01942) 825750.
-ends-
Notes to editors
Table attached
• A table detailing all the YOF and YCF grants awards is attached.
Photo Opportunities
• Young people from Lowton Youth Club, Westleigh Basketball Club and the
WISH project are available to photograph. To set up a picture please
telephone Kennedy Stewart on (01942) 486927.
Further Information
• For further information please telephone Kennedy Stewart, Wigan
Leisure and Culture Trust’s Young People’s Press Officer, on (01942)
486927.
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