- Young people encouraged to develop their entrepreneurship to drive social change
- First scheme of its kind in the North of England
- Joint initiative between Virgin Money Foundation and its Youth Advisors, The National Lottery Community Fund and Northern Soul
A NEW initiative aimed at developing young people's entrepreneurship and influence social change has announced its first cohort of change makers.
A Young Change Makers Fellowship Programme has been launched by Virgin Money Foundation with The National Lottery Community Fund and Northern Soul to support change makers. They are young people aged between 18-25 from across the North East and the North West of England, and Yorkshire and the Humber, who are passionate about changing the society they live in for the better.
A first of its kind in the North of England, young people shared their ideas for how they want to improve their local community and nine change makers will now start a six-month programme at the end of September and will receive exert support, funding and learning opportunities to bring their idea to life. This includes a grand of up to £10,000, as well as a travel grant to cover the cost of researching similar community projects, a learning programme and a mentor to help them to develop as a leader.
They'll also have the opportunity to learn from other social entrepreneurs who've created successful initiatives, work alongside a peer group of young people committed to creating real change and will be linked to other organisations to help them to put their plan into action.
One of the new recruits is 22-year-old Mohamed Maxamed (Max) who has been running a gardening community initiative in Moss Side, Longsight and Gorton in South Manchester and s passionate about promoting gardening in urban inner-city communities. He wants young people to take and feel pride in their area, hoping it will reduce crime levels.
Max said: "I applied to the Virgin Money Foundation to be the change and to work in with young people in my area to be a force for good. I hope to grow my gardening project and bring opportunities to young people living in the "hood" or undeveloped areas, with a bold strategic approach. I'm driven by not allowing young people to be the followers of yesterday but to rise, take what's theirs and be the leaders of tomorrow."
British Army veteran Savannah Thompson, 24, from Durham, is passionate about human rights, equality and support for those with mental health or physical health issues. She wants to help change Army welfare and legal services that are available to those in the services, starting with the services available to veterans in her own community.
Savannah said: "Most people will suffer their mental health at some time during their lives, but many issues are compounded in military service through combat experiences, additional stressors to family life and potential isolation. Mental health issues may not be raised, or fully addressed, during service and can often be exacerbated by transitioning into civilian life. It can be difficult to recognise, or accept, a need for help. My aim is to utilise the invaluable support and advice available to me, from the Virgin Money Foundation and Northern Soul, in order to remove those barriers."
Nancy Doyle-Hall, Executive Director of Virgin Money Foundation, said: "We are pleased to announce the eight young people who will be taking part in our very first Young Change Makers Fellowship Programme. This has been so long in the planning, so to finally get to this stage and be days away from starting is very exciting."
"We have always funded organisations with young people at their heart, but we really wanted to invest in young people themselves and support their ideas and passions for transforming the place in which they live. We had so many wonderful applications, but these eight young people really stood out and I can't wait to see how they progress through this programme and how their hard work will positively impact their communities."
As the charitable foundation of Virgin Money, the bank is also getting involves in the initiative with 50 colleagues volunteering to offer their skills and knowledge to help the young people get the most from the fellowship.
Media contact:
Tel: 0800 066 5998
E-mail: press.office@virginmoney.com
Mohamed Maxamed (Max)
Max wants to promote gardening as a viable vocation for young people from the inner city. Through the Fellowship, Max wants to grow his social business, work with local schools and community groups and establish gardening workshops in person and online to earn money and support his other work.
The Fellowship will help Max to develop his business, practical and entrepreneurial skills and hone his energy and talents.
Savannah Thompson
Savannah wants to ensure that personnel suffering with poor mental health and feeling overwhelmed are better supported and plans to set up her own foundation. Savannah hopes this will be run by paid and volunteer veterans and their families and will work with and within the whole community to support veterans to reintegrate into civilian life and in turn, work to improve the local area.
The Fellowship will provide Savannah with the skills necessary to establish and grow her organisation, further develop her networks and understand how to connect into wider services available in the County.
About Virgin Money Foundation
- The Virgin Money Foundation launched in August 2015 as an independent charitable foundation focused initially on community projects in the North-East of England and growing to operate throughout the UK over time. It promotes the sustainable regeneration of communities that have experienced social and economic decline. Since launch it has awarded almost £10million in grants to community organisations across the UK.
- Virgin Money Foundation seeks to work jointly with other funders, making additional funds available for great local projects. The Young Change Makers Fellowship Programme is co-funded with National Lottery Community Fund.
- The Virgin Money Foundation. Charitable company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales Company No. 9457101. Charity No. 1161290. Registered Office: Jubilee House, Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom, NE3 4PL.
About The Northern Soul Consultancy
- Northern Soul Consultancy was launched by founder Ruth Ibegbuna in 2018.
- It is an advocacy and training agency focused on supporting the leadership development and promotion of talent outside London.
- Visit https://northernsoul.xyz Link opens in a new window for further details.
About The National Lottery Community Fund
- The National Lottery Community Fund are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. National Lottery players raise £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since June 2004, they have made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people.
- The National Lottery Community Fund are passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference to people’s lives. At the heart of everything they do is the belief that when people are in the lead, communities thrive. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, funding is open to everyone. At The National Lottery Community Fund we are privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.