Commissioner awards over £11,000 in grants to fund projects with young people.

Jason Ablewhite, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, has today (March 23) awarded more than £11,000 in grants towards projects for young people

Six community groups from across the county have been awarded funding from the Commissioner’s Youth Fund in the latest round. The groups will share £11,404 of grant funding for community projects, meaning that over £50,000 was awarded by the Commissioner over the year.

Managed by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, the Youth Social Action Fund made grants available to help young people engage in positive activities and promote youth social action.

By contributing to the fund, the Commissioner secured match funding, doubling the amount of funding available to support youth social action projects in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Groups that were awarded funding are:

• The Froglife Trust to run a 10 week course for young people and families to attend activities and volunteer at wildlife projects;
• The Green Backyard CIO to provide volunteering opportunities for young people at the community garden by developing a site in Peterborough;
• Stretham Youth Club to provide social and volunteering opportunities for young people living with a disability;
• Fusion Youth Projects to run a weekly youth club in North Huntingdon to raise awareness amongst vulnerable primary school children;
• The Kite Trust to run a peer group promoting understanding of healthy and consenting relationships; and
• Young People of the Year to recruit 30 young people to do weekly visits to a care home local to their school.

In the last year, a host of projects have benefitted from the fund, including Peterborough Bangladesh Welfare Association UK who received funding to run regular sports training sessions for disadvantaged young people and Ramsey Neighbourhood Trust who used the funding to enable youth group members to run projects building links with other community groups.

By taking part in positive social action, young people will engage more with their communities and benefit from reduced vulnerability and a reduced risk of becoming involved in crime.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Jason Ablewhite said:

“I am delighted to award these funds to support young people as they participate in their local community. It is heart-warming to see how a small amount of money can make such a significant difference and lead to long term benefits for both young people and their communities”