Youth Empowerment Fund
Young people get financial support to realise their dreams
Newham Council’s Youth Empowerment Fund has been helping young people with financial grants to help fulfil their potential and realise their ambitions.
The Fund was launched this June and has mostly helped young people from low-income families.
Don Gibson, Programme Co-ordinator for Newham’s Youth Empowerment Service and Fund administrator, said: “The Youth Empowerment Fund gives young people the opportunity to apply for financial assistance across a broad range of initiatives or opportunities.
“In doing so, they can take control of their lives as they begin to think about and shape their own future. So far, the Youth Empowerment Fund has helped 38 young people to realise their ambition.”
Don added: “This includes a 19-year-old from Stratford, with a lifelong passion to become an airline pilot.
“After successfully applying for the Youth Empowerment Fund, he is now one step closer to achieving his ambition of becoming a fully qualified private pilot.”
Another, a 13-year-old from East Ham applied to the Fund with a very modest request, a laptop, to help her with her current studies. Her ambition is to be a doctor, but her family could not afford to buy her the computer she needed.
After a successful application to the Youth Empowerment Fund, she has the laptop and has taken the first step on her journey towards her dream career in medicine.
Young people, who live in Newham, are encouraged to apply for the Fund if they are eligible.
Read the associated article in the Newham Recorder 'Helping young people into work'.