 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
23 November 2007 …………….. For Immediate Release FUNDING
TO TURN YOUNG
PEOPLE’S PASSIONS INTO COMMUNITY ACTION IN Dig It!, lead by
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust in Coventry
and Warwickshire has been awarded £150,000
funding by v, the youth volunteering charity, to get young people positively
involved in their communities. The project will
get 93 young people aged 16-25 working on community green spaces and
WWT-managed nature reserves. We will work with a wide range of groups and
community organisations in order to develop their local environment. In
addition, young volunteers will receive training in issues relating to
climate change, Health & Safety legislation, risk assessments and
community development and consultation thereby providing young people with
the skills and confidence they need in order to deliver activities in
their local communities. We will also provide the opportunity for
participants to obtain two forms of formal accreditation, the John Muir
award and the Arts Award. The project participants will also receive
training on countryside management and will take part in a variety of
different activities on nature reserves managed by WWT. Volunteers will
produce a video diary and participate in a variety of arts activities
which will allow them to record their experiences and disseminate
information after the project has finished. We believe that this project
will increase the skills base and confidence of young people and empower
them to develop their own volunteer groups. Dig
It! is one of 152 projects across the country who will be funded by v
as part of vinvolved, a new national youth volunteering programme backed
by £75 million funding, which aims to inspire half a million more young
people to volunteer in England. Claire
Cunniffe, Community Manager for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
says: “We are very excited to be part of the vinvolved
programme. The funding will enable us to work with Coventry Refugee Centre
and Minority Group Support Services (MGSS) to engage the young people they
work with in a whole range of volunteering opportunities.” vinvolved
has been designed by and for young people to make volunteering a
compelling choice for all 16-25 year olds in Terry
Ryall, v’s Chief Executive,
says: “v is delighted to be
able to fund this innovative and youth-led project, which will enable
young people to get positively involved in “Young
people are at the heart of this new programme which aims to put them at
the centre of our communities. Instead of seeing them as a problem to be
fixed, we are giving them the chance to become a positive force for
change.” The
volunteering opportunities will be available from April 2008. For more
information visit www.wearev.com
or the young people’s portal www.vinspired.com Ends Media
enquiries: contact Claire Cunniffe, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust on
024 7630 8985 or 07919 961 673 or at claire.cunniffe@wkwt.org.uk Or
Kate Peden on 020 7299 8740 or katie.peden@geronimocommunications.com |
|
 |
|
