Projects celebrate £15,900 in new grants

Community Intercultural Programme has been awarded £10,000 to deliver an afterschool club and summer scheme for children and young people from the area.

The summer scheme will enable the young people to design and stage a project celebrating diversity, which will help to develop their skills, improve their confidence and self-esteem and build new friendships.

Elsewhere, St Mary’s Youth Centre, Portadown, has been awarded £5,900 to deliver a summer scheme for children and young people living locally.

At the summer scheme the young people will be able to enjoy a programme of activities and trips such as swimming, water sports, ice skating and an outdoor expedition which will help to build their confidence, develop new skills and raise aspirations for the future.

Nick McConvey, Youth Worker at St Mary’s Youth Centre said, “We’re delighted to have been awarded this funding from BBC Children in Need that will enable us to run our five week summer scheme over the school holidays for children and young people in our community.”

The charity’s Small Grants programme has to date invested more than £737,000 in the County Armagh area, a spokesperson said.

Speaking of the new grants, Fionnuala Walsh, BBC Children in Need Interim National Head of Northern Ireland said: “Community Intercultural Programme and St Mary’s Youth Centre Portadown are great examples of our Small Grants Programme at work and we’re delighted to be supporting them as they work to make a difference to children and young people in the area.

“We’re always looking for quality applications for our Small Grants programme and we are now able to support projects for longer, helping us maximise the impact. If your project is working with children and young people facing challenges, we encourage you to get in touch to find out more.”

BBC Children in Need’s Chief Executive, Simon Antrobus added: “At BBC Children in Need the grants that we award, no matter how big or small, support some of the most disadvantaged children and young people in communities across the UK. Our grants work with projects that make a positive difference and transform young lives, which would be impossible without generous donations from the UK public.”

BBC Children in Need awards grants at seven points during the year and funds two types of grants, both of which are open to new or existing applicants.

A Main Grants Programme is for grants over £10,000 per year to support projects for up to three years. Meanwhile, a Small Grants Programme includes grants up to and including £10,000, and has been refreshed to support projects for up to three years.

Projects working with children and young people facing any kind of disadvantage can find out more on how to apply for funding at bbc.co.uk/pudsey/grants.

Organisations working with children and young people who would like to apply for funding in future rounds should visit the grants section on the BBC Children in Need website or attend one of the grants information workshops planned for the coming months across Northern Ireland. For further information, please call the Belfast office on 028 9033 8221, or email [email protected].

BBC Children in Need relies on the support and creativity of thousands of fundraisers and supporters across the UK who donate their time, money and energy to help raise millions for the charity. Whether raised by baking cakes, going on rambles, putting on quizzes or taking part in dress up days, all the money raised helps make a difference.