In celebrating Francis Scott Trust’s 60th birthday, this group of young people will be distributing £60,000 to the local community, supported by Cumbria Youth Alliance and Lancaster District CVS. In May, 20 young people from across the Trust’s beneficiary area (Lancaster and Cumbria) were invited to lead the way in designing and delivering a grants programme aimed at giving out £60,000 between September to December 2023.
On the 16th 17th, and 18th of June, 13 of the young people gave some of their time to attend an exciting weekend residential with Think Forward CIC. Enjoy this short video showing their residential highlights…
Large Grant Recipients
Young Persons’ VOICE Group
St John’s Hospice, Lancaster District
The set up and delivery of a young people’s voice group at St John’s Hospice, run out of the ‘Forget Me Not Centre’. Their input will guarantee the centre meets the needs of young people in the community. They will be integrated into every layer of decision-making; from policy, research and recruitment to partnership working with local schools, colleges, and organisations. This will inform strategy on child bereavement at a local and national level.
RESTORE with Empire Fighting Chance
Lancashire Youth Challenge, Lancaster District
A 12-week programme of physical fitness and emotional wellbeing activities, delivered through the medium of non-contact boxing and psychology-informed mentoring. The programme is designed to empower the participants and provide them with the skills and tools needed to improve their emotional wellbeing, understand their decision-making processes, and begin to make positive and meaningful changes in their lives. Each of the twelve (2 hour) sessions will take place on site at Morecambe FC and will be delivered in partnership with their community sports team.
KEY Project
Kent Estuary Youth Project, Milnthorpe
A 12-week independent living project with young people aged 16+, covering introductory and planning sessions to agree the content of the programme, set shared objectives and outcomes. Delivery content could include – emotional health management (building relationships in a new environment and keeping safe), finance and budgetary management (where to seek help if needed and how to manage debt), seeking employment or further education and training (application writing and interview skills), cooking and dietary management (planning meals and shopping on a budget), and other life skills such as managing a home.
Always Another Way
Always Another Way, Egremont
Core funding to resource low level preventative mental health support for young people aged 16-24yr, with specialist support for LGBTQIA+ community in West Cumbria, via youth work interventions, 1 to 1 mental health support and group sessions.
Many of the young people struggle with their mental health due to their personal and family relationships, their experiences in schools, college and in their neighbourhoods where all too often they experience bullying, prejudice, or negative attitudes towards them. For some young people, their struggles are also compounded by diagnosed and often undiagnosed disabilities such as autism, learning disabilities etc. This means that most of the young people accessing support are often very vulnerable and require specific support around their other needs relevant to many vulnerable young people.
Future Creatives – Young Music Producers
Kendal Brewery Arts Centre Trust, Kendal
Young Music Producers will provide a safe space for 16–24-year-olds from the Cumbria and Lancaster district, for free activities, training, advice, and support to develop life skills, boost mental health, nurture creative talent, and provide pathways to creative careers.
Sessions will provide tuition in music production, from entry level baseline skills, building knowledge of fundamentals of music studio equipment, songwriting, performance, creating a digital track, marketing, and publishing. Participants can also take part in a showcase performance as part of a youth-led festival in the Summer.
NADT Pitstop Cumbria
North Allerdale Development Trust, Cumbria
Pitstop is designed to provide positive pathways for young people who have personal/emotional/social or educational barriers that prevent them moving positively into the world of further education, training, or employment. Over an initial 8-week period, the programme will support 20 young people with guided work experience placements.
Under the guidance of professional youth workers, they will be encouraged to link the practical tasks they partake in with the life skills they develop, recognise, and build on their strengths, and address areas of improvement, alongside creating and communicating their CV confidently in a safe and supportive environment.
WeCan POP (Power of Purpose)
iCan Wellbeing Group CIO, Carlisle
Weekly social and creative drop-in sessions based in the iCan Wellbeing Centre for young adults aged 16-24. Sessions to include darts, games, crafts, music, ikigai, health and wellbeing workshops, and library of lived experience nights. Through this engagement there will also be opportunity to work on CV’s and build confidence around employment.
Alongside these activities, each participant will be supported on their own individual development and transition into adulthood with skills and tools dependent on their needs. This journey will help build confidence, but most importantly, will focus on them being empowered to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and purpose.
Small Grant Recipients
Brampton Youth Project
Brampton Youth Project aims to bring back the old youth project that closed in 2016, as it's missed by their community. The funding from Break the Mould will fund youth leader resources, a space for the project to meet, enable youth workers to do youth work training, activity costs, alongside utilities and staff costs. Currently, they are consulting with young people about what it is they want to do.
Whitehaven Harbour Youth Project
Whitehaven Harbour Youth Project wants to run one youth club of 8-10 young people for 8 weeks. This group will consist of young people that have been signposted by youth workers in their other youth clubs, where the need for extra support has been identified. The Break the Mould funding will cover staff costs and costs of the space to run the youth club in.
Another Way
Another Way was set up five years ago after a need for support concerning mental health and bullying around what Amy the founder calls “eco-anxiety”. This refers to the isolation and stress some young people feel about the future of the planet and the environment, and Always Way aims to inspire action for the planet and to create a supportive community of passionate young people who want to share ideas and advice about how to make a difference. The funding from Break the Mould will fund the employment of an engagement manager, development of the mentor programme for 16–25-year-olds, staff, and activity costs.
Phoenix Youth Project
Phoenix Youth Project aims to deliver CV workshops and trips that will showcase the opportunities available to the young people of West Cumbria. The need for impartial careers advice and guidance has been identified for young people in this area as it is especially rural and lacks youth provisions. The Break the Mould funding will cover food costs for Our Futures, which has been requested by the young people to be used as a platform to have open discussions about their careers, what’s available and where to look.
Prop Up Project
The Prop Up Project aims to support young people with their mental health and well-being by providing training such as Mental Health awareness and First Aid. Their priorities are creating safe spaces for young people to socialise and access youth work. The Break the Mould funding will enable the Prop Up Project to co-produce a project with the young people.
CandoFM
Cando FM is a radio station that aims to promote and empower youth voices and inspire social action on issues that are relevant to them, identified through investigative journalism by young people. The Break the Mould funding will enable young people to create mini-documentaries on issues that face young people. Cando FM aims to highlight work done by local youth organisations, focusing on solutions, and making young people aware of the opportunities and support that is out there for them.
Dragonsong Games
Dragonsong Games is a newly established project that aims to reduce social isolation and poor mental health by delivering fortnightly face-to-face sessions where a group of young people come together to play video games together, talk and eat, and can access support from a community they trust. The Break the Mould funding will enable them to get fully established as an organisation, marketing and business costs, insurance, books and materials, rent for the community centre they meet in, volunteer travel costs and any staff costs.