Cumbria Youth Alliance have been awarded £110,000 of National Lottery funding by the Big Lottery Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.
The Allerdale-based group will use the funding to engage with young people from communities across West Cumbria in the Youth Leadership Initiatives project.
The two-year project will offer alternative learning through sport, outdoors, volunteering opportunities, work tasters, work programmes and employer engagement and will primarily work with young people who have been identified by schools as being at risk of disengaging from formal education.
The project will aim to work with 100 young people every year, offering qualifications such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and National Governing Body Sports Awards, as well as access to leadership programmes, which will equip young people with transferable skills and increased confidence, with the aim of raising their aspirations and inspiring them to take on community leadership roles.
Yesterday, Cumbria Youth Alliance was presented with a cheque by staff from the Big Lottery Fund.
Duncan Nicholson, Head of Regional Funding for the North East and Cumbria at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “It’s great to see communities coming together to support young people across West Cumbria as they transition into the world of work or further education. We’re delighted that National Lottery funding is being used to make a difference to the future of these young people and to help them thrive.”
Cath Clarke, job title at Cumbria Youth Alliance, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players we’ll be able to support young people on their journey into adulthood, and provide opportunities for them to develop the skills and knowledge they need for later life. We put an emphasis on listening to young people, they really help to shape the activities, and we will use the results and outcomes of this project to demonstrate how working in a different way with young people can get brilliant results.”
The Big Lottery Fund distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Last year it awarded over £241 million to projects across the UK supporting children and young people.
To find out more visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.
