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Cash For Your Community
Voting form page 3 Your votes count in funding bid
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GROUP of 25 worthy causes have been chosen as finalists for the Bristol Post Cash For Your Community awards. But only 12 of the shortlisted projects will receive a share of the £10,000 pot donated by a local hotel. To have a chance of securing funding, groups need to gain as many votes as possible. Voting forms are printed in today’s newspaper and every day until November 29 – some will offer multiple voting. Once filled in they must be sent to the Bristol Post. There are three levels of funding available – £2,500, £1,000 and £500. The £10,000 that makes up the prize money is coming from the Double Tree by Hilton, Cadbury House complex – through the Hilton Community Foundation – which has a private club and spa. Organisations applied for the funding through the Bristol Post last month, with a joint committee from HCF and the newspaper choosing the finalists.
Colin Badcock – general manager at DoubleTree by Hilton, Cadbury House – said: “We had a phenomenal response from across the area which highlights how many good causes and charities there are. All of them are very worthy and do fantastic work in their community, which made choosing the finalists very difficult. “We hope that those selected will drum up as much support as possible to secure one of the grants, while at the same time raising their profile to those who might not have heard about them before. “We are delighted to be able to provide local charities and good causes the opportunity to fund a project or initiative that needs a little financial support. “We hope our help will enable young people realise some of their dreams and will make a big difference to those within local communities who need our help.”
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TRIPLE H TRUST Applying for £500 ● TRIPLE H Trust is looking to raise funds to provide a respite Christmas holiday in Herefordshire for children from underprivileged backgrounds. The trust, based in Bedminster, provides support for children aged 7 to 12 from urban areas by sending them on respite holidays. Staff offer emotional support, access to confidential advice and a breathing space from difficult home and social situations through the family-style holidays. The organisations’s partner schools are located in built-up areas of high deprivation, suffering from generational unemployment and lack of community cohesion. The holidays are aimed at raising
aspirations and providing a safe educational environment to give the children a boost in confidence. The holiday to Herefordshire will include sports, bush craft, swimming, orienteering, adventure walks and indoor crafts. The activities are designed to encourage cooperation, communication and awareness of and respect for others. The children will also be treated to a Christmas Day experience including a visit from Santa. Many of the children suffer from low self-esteem, behavioural problems, learning difficulties and challenging home situations. The Triple H Trust aims to help develop good habits and establish suitable boundaries with the children involved.
MUSICSPACE
YOUNG CARERS
Applying for £500
Applying for £500
● CHARITY MusicSpace provides music therapy for around 350 disabled children and young people each week at its Southville centre. MusicSpace has applied for funding to pay for new musical equipment and growing community work. The charity works from its base on Bauley Road but also provides sessions at early-years centres, special and mainstream schools and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. MusicSpace says many of its existing instruments are in desperate need of updating or replacing due to general wear and tear.
All the children who attend MusicSpace sessions have some form of disability, such as autism or cerebral palsy. Many of the children have no language and struggle communicating. The charity says that through music they can express themselves, find their voice and be heard. Children develop communication skills and are encouraged to reach their full potential at the charity’s sessions. As one parent said after her autistic son’s lesson: “I do not always understand what it is that you do, but I want to bottle it and keep it with me all week. It makes such a difference.”
ENOUGH Applying for £500 and raise aspirations for players, many of whom come from difficult backgrounds in a neighbourhood which falls into the top 3 per cent of the nation’s most deprived. Enough supports the club and helps the players apply for jobs and training. The project also works with the players’ families. During successful stints with the club, many of the young players have used Enough to gain employment and stay out of trouble. The money would be used to cover costs of training, the pitch and the team’s kit, enabling the Saints to keep supporting the 40 members and their families.
chance to “be children” and take a break from caring. The organisation is also working on a new Young Carers’ zone at the Vassall Centre where carers can come to spend precious time away from caring. The new zone will include an outdoor play area, with volunteers on hand, and a barbecue for the summer months. The fun day, in March, will include activities and sports run by the organisation which has applied for £500 for sports coaches, equipment hire and craft workshops.
BRISTOL YOUNG PARENTS ALLIANCE PRIORITY COURT Applying for £500 ● A SUPPORTED-housing project is looking to set up a child-safety week to raise awareness of the way youngsters are looked after. Elim Housing is a supported-housing organisation which provides accommodation for 15 vulnerable young parents and their children. The parents arrive at the charity seeking help with everything from parenting to budgeting skills. The organisation enables the young parents to develop through on-site educational opportunities, eventually allowing them move on to independent accommodation in the community.
The child-safety week will help raise awareness of the importance of keeping youngsters safe. There will be discussions, and demonstrations from project staff and outside agencies such as emergency services. Elim helps young parents to become independent by making them aware of tenancy obligations, ensuring they access the correct benefits or financial assistance and helping them to acquire missing life skills. The cash would benefit the 15 young parents and 15 children supported by Elim and help open up to the community the organisation’s work.
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● ENOUGH is a Christian project based in Hartcliffe helping young people not in education, employment or training. The charity is applying for cash to help with the running of Hartcliffe Saints Football Club. The club was set up by the a local police beat officer as an activity for older teens who were, or had been, involved in antisocial behaviour in the local community. Working with the Saints teaches players to take responsibility and offers them an affordable way of engaging in team activities and exercise. Organisers claim it also helps set goals
● YOUNG Carers applied for funding to support its yearly fun day which offers young people caring for family members a respite break. Based in the Vassall Centre in Fishponds, above, Young Carers works with around 80 carers as young as eight years old who are doing jobs normally expected of adults. The carers have complex roles at home, looking after family members. Their workload at home is often balanced finely with school life. Young Carers takes youngsters away each March on a trip, offering them the
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Monday, November 11, 2013
Cash For Your Community
ONLINE FOR FULL DETAILS Go to BRISTOLPOST.CO.UK/CYFC
AIR BALLOON HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL
ZION BRISTOL
Applying for £500
Applying for £2,500
● CHILDREN’S spiritual needs can be neglected in the hustle and bustle of modern life, according to one Bristol school. Air Balloon Hill Primary in St George is looking to provide an outdoor sanctuary to put pupils at ease during busy days in the classroom. The “spiritual garden” would provide children, parents and the school community with a much-needed outdoor space where they can reflect, be calm and think. The school said it will be of direct benefit to the children’s and wider school community’s mental health.
It said that the spiritual garden could be a sanctuary for children growing up in the centre of busy Bristol and attending a large school. The school has 720 pupils, rising to 840 in 2017. Air Balloon Hill Primary School is keen to stress the new spiritual garden would not be influenced directly by any particular religion. It would be a “thought provoking” place inclusive to all of the school’s multi-faith make-up. If the funding is secured, the school will be including the pupils in the design process and the creation of the garden, which it is hoped will be open by the end of the academic year.
● WITH winter closing in and fuel bills rising, a community centre in Bedminster Down is appealing for funds to insulate its church hall. Zion Bristol wants to install a dropped ceiling in the old church which struggles to maintain the heat during the organisation’s community activities. The high roof means heat rises away, despite the central heating running at full blast. Zion Bristol runs activities and events for all ages every week of the year. The organisation hosts pre-school children and support groups for young mums, as well as weekend activities for youngsters aged 5 to 12.
The organisation relies on its on-site cafe to sustain its not-for-profit business. But due to Zion being based in a low-income area its prices are kept as low as possible. New funding would ease the pressure on the community centre and allow it to continue to support the 500 to 1,000 people who use its space. Jessica Wright, director of Zion Bristol, said: “Bedminster Down has very few cultural activities available for the community so Zion is very important for the area.” Zion Bristol wants to install a tensile fabric ceiling within the community centre and is offering potential sponsors the chance to print their logo on it.
LIFE CYCLE UK HEADLEY PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL Applying for £500 ● A SCHOOL in Headley Park is planning to take its pupils on trips to the forest if it secures the funding. Headley Park Primary School on Headley Lane is already paying for a member of staff to be trained as a forest-school leader. But the primary school requires funding to pay for waterproofs to give the children access to forest school in all weather. Once trained, Caroline Bush will take children on days out to the woods where they will learn about nature. Caroline hopes forest school will inspire
● LIFE Cycle UK is looking for funding to help maintain and insure its small fleet of tandems used to take disabled young people out. The charity is based at the Create Centre in the Cumberland Basin. It helps give blind, visually-impaired and disabled young people from Bristol regular opportunities to spend life-enhancing days out, riding with support workers free of charge. The charity provides its work for young people with disabilities who have limited opportunities to take exercise, keep fit or take part in leisure activities.
The charity says that tandem cycling is accessible to people with visual impairment or mild physical disabilities because it requires no specialist equipment, facilities or training. The charity’s Two’s Company project takes people out on tandems with the help of sighted volunteers. People riding with Life Cycle UK are given the opportunity to experience an often-new feeling, meet people and “feel normal”, according to the charity. The project relies on a small fleet of bikes which would benefit from the Cash For Your Community funding.
AVON YOUTH ASSOCIATION
EASTON COMMUNITY CHILDREN’S CENTRE
Applying for £2,500
Applying for £1,000
● A YOUTH association wants to reach isolated youngsters in a rural village with its converted bus which offers a range of activities from computing to cooking. Avon Youth Association is looking for funds to help take its bus to Wrington where it hopes to help children reach their potential. The charity offers educational support, and help with IT, for youngsters. It also offers a number of activities including sports. The charity’s aim is to “act as a catalyst” in the development of young people, enabling them to make a full contribution to their community.
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pupils otherwise disengaged from regular classroom activities. She said: “I have a child in mind who I know will benefit hugely from forest school. He really comes alive when he is playing outside but as soon as he enters the classroom he almost shuts down.” She said forest school is a fantastic way to help build self-esteem and confidence. Headley Park Primary School’s 390 pupils will see the new forest-school activities become reality if the £500 funding boost is secured.
Applying for £500
Staff at the charity initiate innovative programmes which they say facilitate the rounded development of young people. Their work also aims to inspire and educate those who would not otherwise be reached by youth services, and help them reach their full potential. Avon Youth Association, based in Filton, works with young people aged 11 to 19, and targets those living in isolated rural areas or underprivileged urban areas. The charity also tries to target specific groups of vulnerable young people who may be at risk of offending.
● A CHARITY providing affordable childcare and support is looking to expand and improve its sensory room. Easton Community Children’s Centre already has a popular sensory space where youngsters can boost their physical development by exploring textures, colours, lights and sounds in a controlled space. But the centre, which serves Easton, Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill, wants to add a new range of sensory surfaces for the children to enjoy. The charity provides affordable childcare
to parents living in some of the most disadvantaged areas in the city. James Rideout, operations manager, said: “The children adore the sensory room but it would benefit from a new range of sensory surfaces and resources to explore and enjoy. This would also support children’s personal and physical development. One of the wonderful things about the sensory room is how inclusive it is. Children of all abilities can have inspiring sensory experiences that help them relax and free their imagination.”
AVONMOUTH FOOTBALL CLUB
SHIREHAMPTON COLTS JUNIOR FOOTBALL CLUB
Applying for £1,000
Applying for £2,500
● THREE recently-formed youth football teams are in need of cash to invest in new equipment. Avonmouth Football Club launched teams for under-sevens, under-eights and under-nines this year to meet growing demand in the area. But the newly-signed players need balls, goals and bibs, among other equipment, to reach their full potential. The new teams come as a relief for the neighbourhood which the club says has suffered a downturn recently. Chris George, Avonmouth Football Club secretary and welfare officer, said:
“Avonmouth has become a very deprived are in recent years and the football club is proud that we can open our small facilities to the local community, helping parents and children enjoy sporting activities.” The creation of the three new teams has accommodated an extra 36 new young players at the club. If fundraising goes well, the club plans to start a team called Tiny Tots next April. The club said it is looking for any volunteers to help “freshen up” the grounds and the surrounding area by painting the clubhouse and dug outs, and picking up litter.
● A YOUTH football outfit is looking to secure funding to improve and maintain its clubhouse. Shirehampton Colts Junior Football Club has 14 teams and around 360 players aged 6 to 16. The clubhouse is on Sea Mills Recreation Park and is in need of some tender loving care. Funding would enable the club to mend broken tiles on the roof, give the place a lick of paint and upgrade the changing rooms and showers. The club says its work is essential in an area of “significant social need”. The
squads foster a sense of achievement among the youngsters involved, and football provides obvious health benefits. Simon Wright, under-11s’ coach, said: “The clubhouse is central to the club’s development, opening on matchdays for the young people to use and as a base for drinks and snacks to be served to the watching parents to help the club’s fundraising and community spirit. “This award would be a great encouragement to all the young people and the great team of volunteers who make up this club.”
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Monday, November 11, 2013
Cash For Your Community
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NATIONAL SMELTING BOXING CLUB
SOUTHMEAD GIRLS’ GROUP
ST MARY REDCLIFFE PRIMARY
Applying for £500
Applying for £1,000
£500
● THE National Smelting Boxing Club is looking to secure funding for new protective boxing equipment for the use of its members in Bristol. The amateur boxing club needs head guards, gloves and other equipment so youngsters can participate in training. Head coach Garry Cave, pictured, said the club promotes “fitness, discipline, respect, confidence, fair play and friendship”. The funds would provide new equipment which will benefit the 60 youngsters who train at the club in Avonmouth. The club was formed in the 1930s at the National Smelting Company, a heavy-chemicals factory in Avonmouth. The gym is now based at Avonmouth Old Boys RFC’s grounds. The boxing club is a member of the Amateur Boxing Association of England. The boxing club says it offers members the most “rewarding and challenging” activity available to young people today. It says: “Boxing will teach you to rely on yourself, to value the input of others and, most importantly, to respect both your own skills and the skills of others. “You will develop a level of self-confidence that you will carry with you for the rest of your life.”
● VULNERABLE teenage girls in Southmead are planning to produce their own magazine through a community group. Southmead Girls’ Group is looking to raise funds to pay for materials and printing for the project which they hope will give the teenagers a chance to express themselves and learn new skills. The group, based on Ullswater Road, is a safe haven for vulnerable teenage girls from the local community to build positive and lasting relationships. The organisation also wants to improve its centre, making the environment more welcoming to girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. Kandace Tiala, pictured, chairman of Southmead Girls’ Group, said: “We want to provide new opportunities in an encouraging environment with various activities on offer on offer ranging from art to cooking. There is an emphasis on building self-esteem, raising aspirations and helping the girls to integrate with the wider community.” She said that the new magazine would feature a selection of work from the 20 teenagers who attend the group. Ms Tiala said: “This is a project they have initiated. We need funding for printing a limited number of copies of the magazine, and to provide the girls with resources for designing and recording the artwork and stories for the magazine.”
● AFTER a fine spell of weather over the summer, a school has applied for funding to take its classes outdoors. St Mary Redcliffe Primary School wants to develop a permanent sheltered classroom outside to allow children to spend more time out in the open. It is hoped the classroom will aid the pupils’ development through its attractive and inspiring learning space. The inner-city school said a proportion of its 420 children live in high-rise accommodation with little access to outdoor space. Many of the pupils live in the Redcliffe area – an area of high deprivation where families suffer “significant disadvantage”. A recent Ofsted inspection highlighted the school’s “uninspiring” outdoor space. But the inspection said the school was “welcoming and inclusive”. Ofsted also said: “When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributes significantly to raising standards and improving pupils’ personal, social and emotional development.” St Mary Redcliffe Primary School’s outdoor space will provide shelter and UV protection, and will enable youngsters to take advantage of new forms of classroom activities. The school has already secured £2,500 of the £5,000 needed to build the classroom.
WORDSWORTH CENTRE Applying for £1,000 ● A POPULAR community centre in Horfield is attempting to secure cash to develop an allotment-style garden patch where children can grow fruit and vegetables. The Wordsworth Centre’s idea is to use the produce in the youth club’s cooking courses. The youth centre on Wordsworth Road needs garden tools and money for seeds to be sewn by children in the local community. The children will tend to the plants. Staff at the community centre are already heading to a community gardening course in February ahead of the growing season. The centre would also like to purchase
gardening books and use part of the possible £1,000 boost to publish leaflets on meals which can be prepared and produced by youngsters at home. The 40 children who use the youth centre are between the ages of 8 and 18 and live in and around the northern half of Horfield and Lockleaze. Janet Knight, pictured, chairman of the Wordsworth Centre, said: “A lot of our children live in flats and come from a very deprived area in Lockleaze and Horfield, and we have children from many cultures.” Staff also hope to use the possible funding to help connect youngsters in the area with the natural environment.
Vote Now Vote Here! £10,000 to be won!
£10,000
We’re working with DoubleTree by Hilton, Cadbury House to give 12 charitable organisations and good causes working with young people across Greater Bristol and North Somerset the opportunity to win part of a £10,000 cash fund kindly donated by the Hilton Community Foundation (HCF). For full details visit www.bristolpost.co.uk/cfyc
to be won, inside the
Voting form Cash for your Community my vote is for:
BREAD YOUTH PROJECT Applying for £1,000 personal-hygiene and customer-service skills. Organisers hope the not-for-profit enterprise will spread the message of healthy living in the surrounding area through its work. Emma Rigby, project manager at Bread Youth Project, said: “This money would be used to buy start-up equipment, including two commercial smoothie makers, so that we can launch a young people’s mobile juice and smoothie bar which would create entrepreneurial opportunities for disadvantaged young people from the area. “Young people have been involved with all stages of the development of this enterprise, including writing the business plan, marketing, website design and product research.”
Single Vote
Voting forms will be printed between Monday, November 11 & Friday, November 29. Some voting slipsGet will be worth more votes thanbetween others. Monday, November 11 your voting forms The aim is to collect as many as possible for the organistaion & Friday, November 29. you would like to win. Voting closes Friday, December 6 at 5pm (Entrants are able to vote for themselves). Once you have collected your votes send them to: Cash for your Community, Bristol Post, Temple Way, Bristol, BS2 0BY. You can send in as many votes as you wish each time kindly donated by... but all votes must Cash be received before Friday, December 6 at 5pm.
Terms and Conditions: Standard Local World terms and conditions apply, for a full list visit www.bristolpost.co.uk/houserules. No photocopies will be accepted. All votes must be received by 5:00pm on 06/12/13. For a full list of terms and conditions of the competition and individual prize providers please visit the official Cash For Your Community website at www.bristolpost.co.uk/cfyc
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● AN established youth project in Lawrence Weston wants to start up a mobile smoothie bar which would bring out its users’ entrepreneurial side. Bread Youth Project in Ridingleaze is looking to set up Juicy Blitz which will be based on Lawrence Weston Parade – ranked in the top 10 per cent of most-deprived areas in the UK. By including young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the Juicy Blitz programme, Bread Youth Project hopes to raise awareness of healthy eating and drinking, teach skills relevant to gaining employment, and boost confidence, belief and aspiration. Young participants will complete juice-bar training on the project which covers food-safety instruction, and
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Cash For Your Community
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KNOWLE WEST CHILDREN’S CENTRE
ROYAL AIR FORCE’S 2467 SQUADRON
INTEGRATE BRISTOL
Applying for £1,000
Applying for £2,500
Applying for £1,000
● A CHILDREN’S centre is campaigning to give its new attendees “a smile a day”. Knowle West Children’s Centre on Leinster Avenue has just welcomed 80 new toddlers but is playing catch-up in terms of facilities and equipment. The organisation is looking for funding to pay for toys and tools for its 220 children. It believes the new items will help produce smiles every day. The children’s centre is based at The Mede Community and Learning Centre, which was converted recently to house the extra children on the roll. On the wish list for the children are four bicycles and tricycles, a wheelbarrow and equipment for a new outdoor playing area. Jackie Ireland, deputy head at Knowle West Children’s Centre, said: “Although we are delighted to welcome 80 additional toddlers to our centre this year, because we have no room for them we have had to convert several rooms and a garden area at The Mede Community and Learning Centre. “Our problem now is that we only have a tiny sum of money available to pay for play equipment, and many of our children’s families really struggle to make ends meet.”
● AIR cadets in Nailsea are looking to raise funds to provide essential equipment for their teams tackling national orienteering competitions. Tents and camping gear are needed by the Royal Air Force’s 2467 Squadron. Young members of the squadron take on the Ten Tors challenge on Dartmoor, and expeditions as part of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. At 2467 Squadron, cadets are divided into two flights. Cadets – boys and girls – earn points for their flight by undertaking various activities and exams as individuals and as a team. The squadron is part of Bristol and Gloucestershire Wing, the local air-cadet administrative headquarters. The squadron’s aim is to promote and encourage a practical interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force among young people. It also provides training which will be useful in the Services and civilian life, while encouraging a spirit of adventure. Joining the cadets is recognised as a good head start for a career in the RAF. Around 40 per cent of officers and 50 per cent of all aircrew – including pilots, navigators and engineers – in the RAF now are former cadets.
● A GROUP which has helped a local community lead a high-profile campaign against female genital mutilation is appealing for funds to host a major event in the city. Integrate Bristol wants to put on an awareness-raising event coinciding with FGM International No Tolerance Day next February. The funding would enable young people involved to cover transport costs for their guests, and would provide refreshments at the event. Integrate Bristol is an educational charity which works with 80 young people in Lawrence Hill. It empowers young people to learn about and take positive action against gender-based violence. The charity’s beneficiaries have experienced significant media attention for their Silent Scream film in 2011 and led an international conference on FGM at the University of Bristol. Christine Townsend, above, co-founder and trustee of Integrate Bristol, said: “Their courage, hard work and dedication have seen Bristol become a leading city nationally in relation to the issue of culturally-based child abuse. “Our young people have come to recognise that FGM does not exist in a vacuum but it part of a social structure that disempowers women and girls.”
TOMORROW’S PEOPLE
MANGOTSFIELD UNITED JUNIORS FC UNDER-13 GIRLS
Applying for £1,000
Applying for £500
● TOMORROW’S People needs funding for its 10-week intensive programme to get young people into employment. The charity’s Working It Out programme works specifically with disadvantaged youngsters to build their confidence, skills and motivation. The programme picks up young people who have struggled academically, and those suffering with depression and anxiety. The charity provides the 59 youngsters with personal-development planning advice, mentoring, skills workshops, confidence-boosting community activities, and corporate-volunteer workshops to help them get the skills needed to secure a job or pursue further education.
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ONLINE
Shane Convey, Tomorrow’s People project manager, described the charity as helping people who “need a hand up, not a hand out”. He said: “One in five young people are now unemployed. “A period of youth unemployment increases eight fold the chances of long-term unemployment. “If we do not support young people out of unemployment, there is a major risk they will become long-term unemployed. “There is a risk of young people becoming a lost generation.” Tomorrow’s People is looking to secure funding to continue its work which helps 79 per cent of its young participants progress into work, further education or training.
● THEY may be reigning champions of their league – but Mangotsfield United Juniors Football Club’s under-13 girls are ill-prepared for the winter months. However, new funding could provide them with tracksuits and waterproofs for the cold weather. The team has 12 girls signed on as players and is raising funds to subsidise the cost to parents. In the past, funding has paid for matchday kit, training tops, beanies and subsidised tournament entry, among other things. The players have spent a day being ball girls for the Bristol Academy team in the FA Women’s Super League.
David Money, assistant manger of the under-13 girls, said: “Football is a very good way of keeping youngsters off the streets. “It encourages them to be part of something. “The team spirit that it fosters helps develop their self-awareness and awareness of others. “It encourages respect and instils discipline.” The players train every Monday at 6pm at Mangotsfield School. They play their home games at Page Park in Staple Hill on Sunday afternoons. New players and volunteers are always welcome.
LEARNING PARTNERSHIP WEST
LIONS BRASS 4 YOUTH
Applying for £2,500
Applying for £1,000
● A RUNDOWN youth centre brought back from closure following the fatal stabbing of teenager Jake Milton is seeking funds for refurbishment. The Eagle House centre on Newquay Road was reopened for youngsters, aged from 13, by Learning Partnership West a year after it closed down. In the few months since it reopened, the youth centre has attracted some of the most hard-to-reach young people in the area. The centre also runs a youth club for those aged 8 to 13. And organisers say both groups lack confidence and ambition.
Nicola Garrett, Learning Partnership West’s lead engagement worker, said the building lacks inspiration. She hopes new funding will pay for a long-overdue refurbishment. She said: “The idea for me to take on this challenge came from a young person allegedly getting murdered by another young person a few weeks prior, yards from the youth club.” The youth centre has 80 to 100 youngsters attending regularly. Organisers hope a £2,500 funding boost will secure the club’s future and provide for children in an often-overlooked area.
● A BRASS band is looking to invest in new instruments for its young musicians. Lions Brass 4 Youth, based in Clevedon, teaches music and lends instruments to young people who cannot afford them. A year-long training programme prepares new musicians to join the group’s youth band and gain from its social and educational benefits. Children are provided with a free instrument during lessons, which last one year, before they step into the training band. As long as they continue to play with the band they can keep the instrument.
Youngsters get the opportunity to hone their skills before joining the full brass band. Debbie Underwood, band manager, said: “Our band invites children who may or may not be able to afford lessons to come along each week to a group lesson in a brass-band environment to learn to play brass instruments. This is a great social and educational outlet for kids.” The three bands – starter band, training band and youth band – are based in Clevedon and rehearse every Friday evening from 4.45pm to 7.45pm.