|
Kids spend big
Youth projects across Wigan Borough are
celebrating a £400,000 cash boost.
Grants have been paid out to 52 groups to allow them to put on more
activities for young people, to create new youth facilities and to
renovate existing buildings.
The money has been awarded in the latest round of the Youth
Opportunities / Capital Fund, two government grant schemes that give
local young people the power to decide how money is spent on them.
The greatest beneficiary this time round is St John’s Methodist Church
Youth Club in Hindley, receiving £35,000 to create a dedicated youth
area in the church.
Also successful was St Michael’s Amateur Dramatic Society who will
receive £3000 to pay for a specialist tutor to enable an autistic young
person to be part of their group, while Abbey Lane Action received
£21,430 to install a teen shelter on the Abbey Lane estate in Westleigh
and to pay for agencies to put on activities in the area.
And Youth Community Consultants were awarded a combined grant of £13,000
to meet accommodation costs and to provide training to local young
people that will allow them to play a more active role in their local
communities.
In total, there were over 100 applications to the two funding streams
this time round. The Wigan Borough Youth Opportunities / Capital Fund
youth panel listened to 18 presentations by young people making a case
for funding.
Youth panel member James Owen, 17, from Leigh, says: “It has been good
to do something for other young people. A lot of young people applied
for money towards transport costs, activities and all sorts of stuff.
The thing that really surprised me was the number of applications we got
for money to improve buildings, but that was a key part of the criteria
so people were justified asking for it.”
James and six other local young people have been on the Wigan Borough
Youth Opportunities / Capital Fund panel for the past two years, giving
up many hours of their own time to allocate approximately £600,000 to
local youth groups and projects.
James, who has cerebral palsy, adds: “Being on the panel has been a
great experience. The other members of the group did not fully
understand the issues around disability before we came together so I
feel I have achieved something really important by being part of the
group.”
The youth panel will now visit some of the projects that have received
funding to see how it is being used and the group will also go on a
residential with other North West Youth Opportunities / Fund panels to
share their experiences. The panel and the Youth Opportunities / Capital
Fund process is overseen locally by the Wigan Council for Voluntary
Youth Services and the Wigan Council Children and Young People’s
Services youth service.
WCVYS Youth Development Officer Kelly Mills said: “Once again, the youth
panel did a really thorough job running the rule over all of the
applications put forward by young people and youth groups. I’d like to
thank all of them for their time and effort.”
-ends-
Notes to Editors
Further information
• Please find attached details of all the groups who received funding
from the latest round of the Wigan Borough Youth Opportunities / Capital
Fund.►
Grant awards 2007/8
• For further information on the Youth Opportunities / Capital Fund
visit:
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/youthmatters/youthfund
• If you have any queries relating to this press release please contact
Kennedy Stewart, Press Officer at the Wigan Youth Information Team, on
(01942) 486927.
►
Return to LINC News
|
