An advisory panel of young people is just one of the ways in which Cumbria Community Foundation is building upon its commitment to further embed youth voice in its own work across West Cumbria.
Delivered as part of Transforming West Cumbria, and administered by the Community Foundation, #CanDo will give cash grants of up to £5,000 to community projects that raise young people’s aspirations and build their confidence by:
- Engaging young people in meaningful social and environmental action
- Empowering young people from disadvantaged communities to volunteer, lead change and take action in their communities
- Encouraging young people to have a voice, be heard and give back to their local community
- Enabling young people to make a huge difference to improving their community and local environment
Cumbria Community Foundation is working with local youth organisations to recruit a youth advisory panel, made up of up to 14 young people, aged 16-25 with a diverse range of lived experience of social issues affecting young people across the region.
#CanDo aims to support the ambition of developing a lifetime commitment to social action and increase the number of opportunities for young people to volunteer, fundraise, or campaign on issues that are important to them, with a commitment to reducing the social and financial barriers that stop some young people from taking part in social action.
The scheme is part of wider £2.2 million investment that Sellafield Ltd and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) will be injecting into local communities over the next three years.
Stuart McCourt, Education, Community and Development Lead at Sellafield Limited, said: “We know that many young people in West Cumbria have some fantastic ideas about how they could address some of the social issues within their local communities and the #CanDo programme enables them to turn these ideas into reality and make a real difference. It is a programme for young people with all the decisions made by their peers to ensure any ideas and projects remain free of any presumptions or bias.”
Annalee Holliday, Grants & Donor Services Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “This programme will help young people to develop their character, confidence, resilience, sense of wellbeing and raise their aspirations. Research suggests that the higher the quality of the social action, the more likely it is to benefit both the young people involved and the communities or causes they are trying to help.”
#CanDo has been matched by the national #iwill Fund, aiming to make social action part of life for as many ten to 20 year-olds as possible, by distributing investment through working with other funders.
More information can be found at www.cumbriafoundation.org/transforming-west-cumbria/cando or by calling 01900 825760. Applications must be received by 4th September 2020.
