Arran youth groups get a £4,000 funding boost
Youth groups on Arran are celebrating after being awarded a total of £4,000 through North Ayrshire Council’s youth participatory budgeting scheme.
A total of 56 clubs and groups from across North Ayrshire received a share of £50,000 through the scheme, with applications for the latest round of funding having to fit at least one of Scotland’s Year of Young People legacy themes: health and well-being, poverty and inequality and participation and young people’s voice.
Successful in their bids and receiving £800 each were: Arran High School Mountain Bike Club, Arran High School of Sport, Ar- ran Junior Triathlon Club, Arran Kayak Club and Arran Youth Foundations.
The council’s youth champion councillor Shaun Macaulay said: ‘We would like to congratulate all of the groups and organisations who have been successful in this latest round of participatory youth budgeting.
‘With Scotland’s Year of Young People coming to an end, we hope that these projects can help to build a lasting legacy that will last well beyond 2018.’
The scheme, which was launched in 2016, has assisted youth groups in attaining a number of successes including the Mind Your Health toolkit which received £6,000 of funding in 2017.
The Mind Your Health pack, which contains a wealth of advice and contacts for young people experiencing a wide range of mental health issues, also contains real life stories from young people who have experienced mental ill health, as well as learning workshops and items to help teach distraction techniques. The pack also contains advice for teachers, carers and youth workers who may be struggling to find the best ways to help young people in their care who are experiencing difficulties.
Now available in every secondary school across North Ayrshire, the toolkit was initially the idea of former member of the Scottish Youth Parliament Courtney Gemmell.
To find out more about North Ayrshire Council’s participatory budgeting schemes, visit www.northayrshire. community/get-involved/ participatory-budgeting-in-north-ayrshire