Grantown YMCA awarded £50,000 cash boost for youth club
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Grantown YMCA Community Centre SCIO has been awarded funding from the Young Start programme to continue delivering their weekly junior and senior youth clubs and summer programme, supporting more than 130 local youngsters over the next three years.
The £50,000 awarded to the YMCA is part of a total of more than £1.5 million awarded to 19 Scottish organisations supporting children, teenagers and young adults across the country.
Young Start, delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund, awards dormant bank account funding to projects that help young people reach their full potential. See full list of projects attached.
The Centre has a wide range of activities on offer from arts & crafts, music, baking to watching movies and singing karaoke in the newly refurbished cinema room. But what the youngsters value most, is having a safe and cosy space to meet their friends and being able to choose how to spend their time.
Over the course of the last year attendance at the youth clubs has jumped exmore than 150 local young people attending the sessions. The award means that the centre can engage more youth workers to help meet this demand.
Isobel aged 13, Chloe, aged 12, and Sarah, aged ten all spoke about how much they value the sessions:
“I just got a phone for my tenth birthday”, says Sarah, “and for a month after I got it, I was stuck to the screen. Coming to youth club means I put the phone down and hang out with my friends, which I love.”
Chloe, who has been home-schooled since she was seven years old, has been going to the sessions for over a year now and says the youth workers are one of the main reasons she loves the youth club so much, She said “I love coming here every week as I don’t go to school so I get to see my friends, but Debbie and Rachel are so fun and supportive, it makes coming to youth club even better.”
Isobel added that without the Youth Club, she wouldn’t be as engaged with people her own age. She said: “I do go to a few different clubs but coming here is my favourite. I love getting to see my friends and it’s so different than in school. We get to choose what we want to do and there’s always loads of different things going on.”
Rachel Harold, Youth Development Officer at Grantown YMCA Community Centre SCIO said: “The Young Start funding awarded to Grantown YMCA Community Centre signifies a transformative opportunity for the youth of Grantown. With this support, the centre can expand its offerings and create a more vibrant space for young people to thrive.
“Already, there has been a noticeable increase in attendance at clubs and activities, indicating a growing sense of community engagement. Moreover, the funding has empowered young individuals to take on leadership roles, fostering a sense of responsibility and ownership within the community. The impact of this funding extends beyond mere financial support; it is a catalyst for positive change and empowerment within the Grantown community.
Announcing today’s funding, The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “Youth Clubs like this one are such important resources around the country for so many young people. In an ever-more virtual world where technology is taking over in-person communication, getting children and young people together is so vital to their development.
“We are always keen to support projects that put Scotland’s young people at the heart of the development and running of services. If your group has an idea how you would make this happen, then we’d love to hear from you.”
