Young Mayor’s Fund awards £8,000 to young people’s projects

Croydon’s Young Mayor and Deputy Young Mayor have given thousands of pounds to four projects designed by young people, for young people, ranging from the creation of a community study hub, to a series of anti-knife crime videos.

The schemes came before a funding panel, led by Deputy Young Mayor Shea Williams, on Tuesday 9 April.

The projects each awarded £2,000 are:

  • Albi Aolad and Meryem Demirpolat supported by Lighthouse Educational Society for a three week youth mentoring project
  • Chione White and Millie Welch supported by Play Place to continue their anti-knife crime and youth violence video campaign
  • Aaliyah Bedeau and Keanu Reid supported by Croydon Rap Club to film a series of anti-gang and youth violence videos
  • Eden Blackman and Simon Rindure supported by Reaching Higher Youth Charity to create a study hub where young people would have access to I.T equipment and educational support staff.

More information on each bid can be found at the bottom of this page.

The judging panel consisted of Deputy Young Mayor Shea Williams and the Croydon representative to the London Youth Assembly, Lauren Aarons.

Shea Williams said: “Young people are the future generation. I’m not saying we have all the ideas, but we do have a lot of them.

“We see what’s going on in society and sometimes we do know how it should change to make a difference. So it’s really important that we listen to them.”

Eden Blackman, from Reaching Higher, said: “After being awarded the funding, we’re very happy and thankful.

“It means we can build our study hub which can then be a space for young people in Croydon who need a space to revise or do any sort of work, to feel comfortable to do so.”

“The Young Mayor’s fund offers our young people the chance to support and create ideas to help each other across the borough.

“We are listening to our young people helping them to achieve their full potential and make real and valuable contributions to our communities.”

Councillor Alisa Flemming, cabinet member for children, young people and learning

 

 

  • Albi Aolad and Meryem Demirpolat supported by Lighthouse – The funding will run a three-week mentoring activity. In total 20 children and five mentors will receive one week of in class revision help with homework or SATs exam practice. They will get to take part in a week-long activity session at an outdoor adventure centre before a week looking at what they’ve achieved and what they can do in the future.
  • Chione White and Millie Welch supported by Play Place – The project received funding in the first round of the Young Mayor’s Fund to create a film raising awareness and combating knife crime. The first film tackled the issue from a victim’s perspective with the film uploaded to YouTube and available for schools, youth groups and others. The new funding will allow them to create new films including one from a perpetrator’s perspective to help combat the problem.
  • Aaliyah Bedeau and Keanue Reid supported by Croydon Rap Club – Rap Club offers young people a chance to develop their skills and take unique opportunities including performing at Wembley Arena, Disneyland Paris and Battle of the Bands competitions. The funding will help them film a series of anti-gang and youth violence awareness videos.
  • Eden Blackman and Simon Rindure supported by Reaching Higher – Every week around 30 children visit Reaching Higher’s office to learn about leadership, life skills and mentoring or to find a quiet place to get on with work. The funding will allow a new quiet study space to be created and decorated for everyone to use. The space will include four workspaces and laptops.
2021-08-20T15:38:26+01:00 April 17th, 2019|Recent news|