Lottery funding boost for local youngsters

Young people in Midlothian are set to benefit after three local projects received funding from the Year of Young People National Lottery Fund.
Staff and members of mayfield and Easthouses Y2K Youth Group, which has received lottery funding for a new project. 6/8/18Staff and members of mayfield and Easthouses Y2K Youth Group, which has received lottery funding for a new project. 6/8/18
Staff and members of mayfield and Easthouses Y2K Youth Group, which has received lottery funding for a new project. 6/8/18

Mayfield and Easthouses Y2K, Artlink and Midlothian Youth Platform received a share of more than £22,000 for projects in the county aimed at benefiting young people.

Mayfield and Easthouses Y2K received £9,700 for its Helfy Guid to Go project, which aims to establish and support good habits in young people to help them lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.

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Young people will take part in weekly activities including cooking, exercise, socialising and team work. With 12 young people taking part over each 10-week block, operating every three months as a rolling programme running until next July. The youngsters in each group will be responsible for devising/adapting the programme to ensure it is meeting their needs and is relevant to their lives.

Y2K project manager Carol Flack is delighted that the charity can now offer this project to local youngsters.

She said: “It’s really important. This is a major boon and boost to us in terms of our focus on health and wellbeing for young people in the area.

“With this funding we can offer this important project for a year. We are absolutely delighted. Competition is always stiff when it comes to securing funding in this climate and it’s just fantastic that we have been able to evidence the needs, sadly, and look at what we can do here to address those needs.

“We are keen to have a range of different ages involved, and the S1-S4 young people who access Y2K are the group that are perhaps most at risk of falling into more negative and risky behaviours without a focus for their energy and frustrations.

“They are also in need of some nurturing and reassurance that they do have options, skills and gifts that will carry them forward into a more resilient and optimistic future.”

Artlink Edinburgh and the Lothians has been given £9,800 for a Midlothian project, which will allow young people with autism and complex needs to get one-to-one support in developing their own skills and mini community projects based on their interests and needs.

And Midlothian Youth Platform picked up £3,300 for a project, which will develop employment opportunities for young people specifically within the leisure sector providing skills development and training in response to consultation with young people.

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The funding has been made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, in a joint scheme from Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, sportscotland and Spirit of 2012

Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland chairwoman, on behalf of the Scottish National Lottery distributors, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this investment will make a difference in the lives of many young people. The funding will improve the health and wellbeing of young people from a range of backgrounds including those experiencing mental health issues, young carers and young people with disabilities.”

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