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Young Lives has been chosen to participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge to raise funds for a new project Young Localism – The Dragon’s Den project!
The Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for us to gain extra funding for projects that benefit young people, as well as a chance to inspire new donors and trustees.
Charities who take part all have access to over £1m of sponsor funds provided by a number of foundations, corporate sponsors and individuals. These funds are used to help charities match donations made by their supporters, new and old. The next step for Young Lives is “ the pledge phase” where we need to attract £2000 in pledges by the 31st of October. This is done via a link to the Young Lives page on Big Give website. (you can find the link below).The Minimum pledge is £100.
The Project
The concept is that young people will join The Big Society running social action projects locally. We want to set up a ‘Young People’s Localism Fund’ to be run by and for young people. Young people will pitch for up to £1,000 in a Dragon’s Den style event, convincing the ‘Young Dragons’ to support the project and what it will achieve.
We know that young people care about their communities and want to be active in them. Young Lives has a proven track record in administering grant funding run by and for young people (Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund). These funding streams no longer available, and cuts being experienced within the public sector mean there is less provision for young people locally. We are trying to minimise the impact the cuts have on local young people and also to address the negative image young people sometimes get within local communities and the misconception that they are only interested in behaving anti-socially and damaging local property.
We want to give young people the chance to make projects that reflect their interests and show they are active citizens who care about where they live. The young applicants will research projects and interact with local people, they will need to present a well thought out project to the ‘Young Dragons’, which has a positive impact on the community. If successful they will deliver their project and involve local people to make it happen. This will improve intergenerational relationships and show young people in a positive light.
How you can help
There are several ways your business could support this project. Firstly you may choose to make a pledge on a personal level. This has worked very well for charities that have participated in previous “Christmas Challenges”. Alternatively your business may wish to support us as part of your Corporate Social Responsability programme.
For more details on The Big Give follow our link below or field your questions to Kevin on 01480 494333.
http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/pledge/younglives
http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/13351
http://content.thebiggive.org.uk/challenge-explained/