Young people across West Cumbria have had their say in which projects should receive funding as part of a Sellafield Ltd-backed community scheme.
#CanDo is part of Transforming West Cumbria, which is managed by Cumbria Community Foundation.
It encourages young people to apply for funding for community projects.
Those applications are then considered by a youth panel, putting the decisions firmly in the hands of the next generation.
The panel decided that Maryport and Solway Sea cadets, Community Alcohol Partnership, Cumbria Youth Alliance and the Phoenix Youth Project should receive funding for their projects.
Between them the successful projects will tackle environmental pollution by installing a Seabin in Maryport Marina, support groups of young people as they tackle social issues in their communities, and help disadvantaged young people obtain a Level 2 qualification.
Emily Dixon, 16, who is part of the panel, said: “The panel was a great experience to be a part of. It was nice to be able to speak to people and share ideas even with the current circumstances. Everyone was really willing to get involved and all the ideas were very different.
Sellafield Ltd’s head of community and development, Gary McKeating, said: “Our new approach to social impact acknowledges that none of us have all of the answers, and that the people living in and working with our communities are often best placed to identify projects that will make a difference.
“The fact that #CanDo puts the identification of projects and the decision on what is funded in the hands of young people is, for me, one of the most exciting elements of the Transforming West Cumbria programme.”
Annalee Holliday, Grants and Donor Services Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “We believe that young people should be heard and have their views valued and acted upon. That’s why we recruited our first youth advisory committee.
“Young people have enormous potential to make a positive change – their involvement is crucial to the future of our communities. This group will bring expertise and a fresh pair of eyes to help us decide which projects are funded. I look forward to involving you people in our grant making in future.”
The successful projects that will receive grants under the #CanDo project are:
Maryport and Solway Sea Cadets who will install a Seabin that will capture waste, plastics and oil in Maryport Marina.
Community Alcohol Partnerships who will create young health champions, a programme that will enable 30 disadvantaged young people to develop health improvement messages on an issue that matters to them while obtaining a Level 2 qualification.
Cumbria Youth Alliance, whose Dreamscheme will encourage young people to come up with ideas about community action as a group then come together to agree one project that they would like to take forward in their local community.
The Phoenix Youth Project, whose Cuppa & Craic (Young People’s Committees) will work with 3 youth centres to develop their own social action project.
