£45,000 of the additional funding has been donated to two community groups and a university based in Coventry, helping hundreds of local young people to succeed in life. Since it was launched in 2012 the Foundation funding has supported over 17,500 young people.
The charity’s community group grants are awarded to grass-roots community groups or charities that need financial support with the delivery of positive, developmental activities for youth in the community. The Foundation’s aim is to help others to engage young people and steer them away from becoming involved in anti-social behaviour and crime. Educational grants are awarded to colleges and universities that propose bespoke bursary programmes to support disadvantaged young students with costs during their studies.
Aptitude Organisation CIC has been awarded a £10,000 grant to train young people aged 13-25 in a Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) peer mentoring programme. Working in partnership with West Midlands Violence Prevention Alliance and local police, the programme will train young people in effective ways to challenge abuse and bullying. It will also support new volunteers aged 18-25 to be positive role models and provide safeguarding training for volunteer youth peer mentors. Those volunteers will attend local events that are popular with young people and they’ll support the police with violence prevention, helping to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in the community.
Coventry Boys and Girls Club has been given a £20,000 grant to increase its youth club provision by 50%, taking the number of weekly sessions from three to six nights a week and helping to engage more young people. In addition, the funding is also supporting the club to help young people with their personal development by offering guidance on achieving in school, securing employment or finding training.
Coventry University has secured annual bursary funding of £10,000 for three years to support 30 students that are care leavers or that have a disability. Recognising that these two groups may need more support than their peers, the university will also offer further support in the form of more personal careers guidance through ongoing mentoring support.
Ian Dunn, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Coventry University, said:
“We are delighted that the National Express Foundation has supported us. As a university we are committed to supporting all our students so that they have the best experience possible while they are here with us. We recognise that some students face more challenges than others so these bursaries will support two groups who are significantly underrepresented in higher education.”
Anthony Vigor, Chairman of the National Express Foundation, said:
“We are very proud of the support we’ve been able to provide for young people in the communities that we serve. The additional £190,000 of National Express Foundation funding means we can help another 1,500 young people through new projects and bursary support. Since we launched in 2012 the Foundation funding has supported over 17,500 young people.
“The purpose of these grants is to help groups to deliver some fantastic activities for young people and also help those who might not otherwise be able to continue with their studies in further and higher education. This additional funding means we can help even more local young people succeed in life.”
£130,000 of funding has been awarded to 12 community groups across Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Kent to support projects over the next 12 to 18 months. Birmingham City University has also secured an annual three-year bursary of £10,000 to support students that are from care or estranged from their parents and therefore have nowhere to turn when they need help.
The full list of community groups to benefit from the Foundation’s new funding are:
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Aptitude Organisation CIC, Coventry £10,000
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Coventry Boys and Girls Club, £20,000
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EmployabilityUK, Wolverhampton £10,000
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Friends of Tividale Park, Oldbury £5,000
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Hall Green Youth, Birmingham £5,000
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Handsworth Wood Youth Group, Birmingham £2,500
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Krunch UK, Oldbury £20,000
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New Park Village Activities Network, Wolverhampton £20,000
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Olio Hub, Darlaston £20,000
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Opportunities with Experience CIC, Gravesend £5,000
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Recre8now, Birmingham £5,000
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Swale Gloves Amateur Boxing Club, Sittingbourne £2,500
For full details of the respective projects and bursary programmes supported by Foundation funding this year please visit www.nationalexpressgroup.com/foundation
