Grants Encourage Young People to Make a Difference in their Local Communities
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) has awarded grants of over £51,000 to 12 charitable groups, thanks to the #iwill Fund which includes generous match-funding from HIWCF donors. The #iwill campaign is a UK wide programme aiming to make social action a regular part of life for less affluent young people aged 10-20. The programme aims to encourage the younger generation to make a significant contribution to their local communities through volunteering, fundraising and campaigning, while also aiming to build their confidence and skills.
Southampton based group Theatre for Life is one of the groups receiving a grant of £5,000 for their ‘Silent Mind’ Project. The grant will enable local young people to deliver youth theatre, to raise awareness of coping with mental health issues through wellbeing and mindfulness to other young people with limited access to the arts.
Working in partnership with Solent Mind, youth leaders at Theatre for Life will have the opportunity to plan and facilitate drama workshops, empowering other young people with positive comping strategies and wellbeing management.
Michelle Smith, Artistic Director at Theatre for Life said “Thank you so much for our grant, we are absolutely thrilled, this will allow us to work with more young people who have limited access to the arts due to financial constraints. We hope that Silent Mind will help to address the rising figures that we see locally in mental health, and we are delighted that over the last two years we have supported 1,198 young people through our workshops, and seen many of our young people go on to professional training in youth theatre.”
Grant Cornwell MBE, Chief Executive at HIWCF said “I would like to thank our HIWCF donors who generously match-funded the #iwill Programme, enabling us to support local groups working with young people, many from disadvantaged backgrounds; that want to make a difference in their local communities. Young people have so much energy, enthusiasm and passion for the causes they support, and by taking action on the issues that matter to them, not only can they leave a legacy for local people and places, but the project also enables them to develop valuable personal skills that can really appeal to local businesses and employers, thus improving life opportunities and prospects.”
The #iwill Fund is a joint £40 million investment from DCMS and the National Lottery Community Fund. UK Community Foundations (UKCF) has secured the funding on behalf of the network for the second time, to fund projects supporting the aims of the #iwill Campaign.
HIWCF is committed to raising funds to help vulnerable and disadvantaged people across the region. If you would like to find out more or make a donation to HIWCF, please contact us.
Theatre for Life – Courtesy of @richardbudd (c) 2019
