BBC Children in Need has announced that it has awarded new grants totalling £127,709 to two local projects working with disadvantaged children and young people in Cumbria.
The new funding awards – made possible following BBC Children in Need’s 2019 Appeal in November – will support the delivery of vital services to young people in the area and means that the charity now has more than £2.7 million invested in Cumbria.
In Carlisle, Longtown Memorial Hall Community Centre has been awarded a three-year grant of £28,800 to deliver a youth club for children aged between 7 and 15 years. The youth club will run two evenings per week and will enable the young people to take part in a wide range of activities including sports and arts. The project will lead to improved relationships and better emotional and mental wellbeing.
Nigel Williamson, Manager at Longtown Memorial Hall Community Centre said: “It’s fantastic news to have been awarded this new funding which will enable us to support disadvantaged children and young people in our area and make a positive difference to their lives.
Elsewhere, Child Bereavement UK has been awarded £98,909, over three years, to deliver bereavement support for children and young people across Cumbria. Support is given to children and young people who have experienced bereavement. The support helps to build the young people’s confidence and resilience, reduces isolation and helps them to understand, process and talk about their feelings of loss.
Elizabeth Myers, Regional Head of the North & South of England at BBC Children in Need said: “We’re delighted to have awarded new grants to Longtown Memorial Hall Community Centre and Child Bereavement UK in Cumbria, which demonstrate how our grants make a positive difference to children and young people’s lives.”
Simon Antrobus, Chief Executive of BBC Children in Need, said: “During these exceptional times I am delighted to be awarding funding which will positively impact young lives when they need it most. An enormous thank you must go to our incredible supporters, without whom these grants simply wouldn’t be possible.”
In addition to these grants, BBC Children in Need has also recently launched two dedicated COVID-19 Response Programmes, following The Big Night In appeal on 23 April, which brought BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief together for the first time. These new grant programmes have been developed in response to the current crisis to support local charities and organisations across the UK who are providing essential help to children and young people in urgent need of support.
The COVID-19 2020 Booster Grants Programme has opened to the charity’s 3,000 local projects based in communities across the UK, to enable existing grant-holders to apply for funding up to £5,000 over a six-month period. In addition, the COVID-19 Next Steps Programme is open to applications and will enable organisations supporting children and young people across the UK to apply for funding up to £80,000 over an 18-month period. Details on both funding programmes, and how to apply, can be found on BBC Children in Need’s website.
Across Cumbria, BBC Children in Need is currently funding 41 projects to a value of more than £2.7million.
