Local Carmarthenshire projects awarded £59,000 from BBC Children in Need

Carmarthen Youth Project and Carmarthenshire Youth & Children’s Association have been awarded funding from BBC Children in Need to support disadvantaged children and young people locally.

Today, (Monday 22 June), BBC Children in Need has announced that it has awarded new grants totalling £59,670 to two local projects working with disadvantaged children and young people in Carmarthenshire.

The new funding awards – made possible following BBC Children in Need’s 2019 Appeal in November – will support the delivery of vital services to young people in the area and means that the charity now has more than £949,000 invested locally.

Carmarthen Youth Project has been awarded a three-year grant of £29,670 to provide a child and parent group for disadvantaged children living in areas of deprivation. In addition, the funding will support the project to deliver a weekly session for eight to eleven year olds, to aid the transition from Primary to Secondary education. Through the programme of support the project aims to improve family relationships whilst increasing the children’s overall wellbeing and reducing their feelings of isolation.

Gayle Harris, Youth Project Manager at Carmarthen Youth Project, said of the funding award: “With this funding we will provide a safe place for parents to simply play with their children and enjoy their company without stress or worry. It sounds simple, but it is hugely impactful. In addition, we will be able to support young people as they make the transition to Secondary Education, which is often a daunting time in their lives. Thank you, BBC Children in Need.”

Elsewhere, Carmarthenshire Youth & Children’s Association has been allocated a three-year grant of £30,000 to provide online safety sessions for disadvantaged young people who might be vulnerable to exploitation. Through the programme of support the project aims to support young people to be better able to keep themselves safe online and build their resilience, whilst reducing their anxiety and supporting them to better understand their feelings.

Tracy Pike MBE, CEO of Carmarthenshire Youth & Children’s Association, commented on the funding award, saying: “This funding will enable us to employ a part-time Digital Resiliency Officer to deliver training workshops to children at risk of being exploited online. Without our services, hundreds of children throughout Carmarthenshire would not access the support they need to ensure they are kept safe from harm – thank you, BBC Children in Need.”

Speaking of the new grants, Melinda Connelly, BBC Children in Need National Head of Wales said: “At BBC Children in Need we fund projects making a real difference to disadvantaged young lives, and we’re delighted to be awarding this new funding locally. With this money, projects will deliver support to children and young people locally who need it most. During these unprecedented times, where many of our projects are having to adapt and find new ways of supporting children and young people in need of help, we are more grateful than ever for the generosity shown by our supporters, who made these funding awards possible. Thank you all.”

Simon Antrobus, Chief Executive of BBC Children in Need, said: “During these exceptional times I am delighted to be awarding funding which will positively impact young lives when they need it most. An enormous thank you must go to our incredible supporters, without whom these grants simply wouldn’t be possible.”

In addition to these grants, BBC Children in Need has launched two dedicated COVID-19 Response Programmes, following The Big Night In appeal on 23 April, which brought BBC Children in Need and Comic Relief together for the first time. These new grant programmes have been developed in response to the current crisis to support local charities and organisations across the UK who are providing essential help to children and young people in urgent need of support and funding has already begun to be distributed. For more information on these funding programmes please visit the BBC Children in Need website.

Across Carmarthenshire, BBC Children in Need is currently funding 19 projects to a value of £949,000.