Category: Children
In Need
Date: 29.10.2004
Printable version
91Èȱ¬ Children
in Need is calling all Midlanders to start thinking up fundraising ideas
for 19 November's 25 year anniversary appeal.
People in the Midlands have always been great supporters of the charity
through fundraising and also donating on the night of the show.
Last year, purely on the night of the show, more than a million pounds
was raised by people in the Midlands and this sum does not include the
money raised through local fundraising events.
Here are some examples of how the money raised was spent in the area:
Ambassador Dancers: Telford,
Shropshire
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Rather than staying at home or being on the streets
with nothing to do, young people in Telford can now go along to the
Ambassador Dancers and enjoy getting involved with the dance troupe.
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The troupe takes part in championships during the year,
which gives the children a goal to work towards.
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Taking part increases self-confidence, gives a sense
of achievement and can help shy children to make friends, while keeping
fit.
The grant of £2,895 has been used to cover the cost of children
attending the end of season championship in October, who otherwise would
not have been able to afford to take part.
SNAP: Cannock, Staffordshire
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After 18 years of hard work, an organisation has been
able to open a specialist and purpose built outdoor and indoor play
facility for children which means disabled and non-disabled children
can play easily together.
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Part of the project is a special multi-media room which
is designed to help children who find speech and communication difficult
to express their thoughts and feelings.
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The grant of £41,055 is being used over two years
to cover the cost of some of the specialist multi-media equipment, plus
the cost of a specialist worker to use the equipment.
Cope: Black Mental Health Foundation:
Birmingham
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Over the last 10 years this organisation has been successful
in supporting teenage mothers to ensure a good start for their children.
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It is really important that very young mothers are
encouraged and supported to attend clinics, understand about healthy
eating and exercise during pregnancy and learn parenting skills.
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It is also important for them to continue with school
as much as possible, and think about future work.
Reducing the number of unplanned teenage pregnancies is also an aim
of the project and young men and women are given information about the
responsibility required to be parents.
The grant of £50,000 is being used over two years to cover the
cost of employing the project co-ordinator.
Avon Performing Arts Theatre Group:
Cannock, Staffordshire
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Cannock in Staffordshire is an area which has been affected
by the closure of mines and these days has many families who are unemployed
living on benefits, or on low incomes.
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This organisation runs theatre training for children
and young people which includes all aspects of stage craft.
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The weekly sessions mean children have a safe place
to go to make friends and learn new skills which they otherwise could
not afford.
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To make performing and working at the theatre a more
real experience the organisation needed funding for new equipment.
The grant of £2,420 has covered the cost of buying new stage lighting.
WATCH: Coventry, West Midlands
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Some young people do not cope very well with school
and may end up being excluded.
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It is important that they have something useful to
do with their time to prevent them from getting into trouble and to
give them new skills which they can use when looking for work later
on.
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A new project run by WATCH is setting-up a young person-led
community radio station as well as offering training and courses to
go onto.
The grant of £84,162 is being used over three years towards the
salary of the radio development worker who is needed to organise the
project.
Sandwell People First: Tipton,
West Midlands
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Young people with learning difficulties and disabilities
often have decisions and choices about their lives made for them by
other people.
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A new project in Tipton will make sure young people
feel much more involved in planning their own futures.
The project will support young people to run two self advocacy groups
and encourage the groups to get together four times a year at a Young
People's Forum to share ideas.
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They will also run training sessions in self-advocacy
skills, their rights, and multi-media and presentation skills.
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In the second and third year of the project they hope
to support young people to stand for election to the UK Youth Parliament.
The grant of £86,138 is being used to cover the cost of the Young
People First development worker over three years.
Changes Theatre Group: Mansfield,
Nottinghamshire
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Drama is a creative way for children to express themselves,
and being able to act or perform in front of parents and friends can
increase confidence.
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Children who come from deprived backgrounds or who have
additional educational needs might not have an opportunity to take part
in drama unless it is planned to meet their additional needs.
This after-school drama club is doing just that for about 20 children
in a fun way.
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The children take part in acting, dancing and singing
which help raise confidence and improve reading and communication skills.
The grant of £8,775 over three years helps to cover the cost of
the arts worker to run the club.
Voluntary Action Leicester:
Leicester
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A new project has been started to enable young people
with learning disabilities to be actively involved in community life.
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The project introduces the young people to volunteering,
which helps them to increase their options and choices when they leave
school, and which also leads to increased independence and integration.
A volunteer development worker has been employed to help find volunteering
placements and make sure young people are supported in their placements.
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Support available includes 'Meet and Share Meetings'
where young volunteers can talk about their feelings about their voluntary
work.
The grant of £68,069 covers the costs of employing the volunteering
development worker, and the young volunteers' expenses.
Happy Days: Buxton, Derbyshire
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Happy Days is a new group set up by parents of children
with additional or special needs, including Down's Syndrome, dyspraxia
and autism.
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Once a week they run a session for parents and toddlers
and between 10 and 20 children under five years old come along.
The group offers specialist play activities and a specialist toy library.
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This makes it possible for children to explore different
experiences, and supports those who have challenging behaviour which
makes attending other toddler groups difficult.
The grant of £10,337 over three years covers the costs of two
special needs nursery nurses who run the toy library and organise the
play sessions.
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The knock-on effect of the toddler group having more
support is that their parents now have some time together to share problems
and learn about issues such as behaviour management and music therapy.
Takeover Radio Children's Media Trust:
Leicester
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This trust in Leicester works mainly with children and
young people, offering them training in media skills.
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It gives them the chance to run the children's radio
station and also to contribute to the magazine Re-Tune.
The trust, in conjunction with another organisation the Adhar Project,
now offers a training course for 19 young carers, mostly from Asian
backgrounds, whose parents have mental health problems.
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As the children have to spend so much time supporting
their parents they miss out on other after-school activities.
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The course, the Takeover Radio's Bronze Level Training
Course, improves confidence, enables young people to meet new people
and have new experiences which they will remember for a long time.
The grant of £5,000 is being used towards the costs of the training
course including the cost of the media skills lecturers.
91Èȱ¬-Start South West Lincolnshire:
Stamford, Lincolnshire
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Sometimes families can find it difficult to bring up
young children, especially where they are under pressure, perhaps because
they do not have enough money or because they have other children who
need a lot of attention, or perhaps they are a single-parent family.
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91Èȱ¬-Start South West Lincolnshire has lots of volunteers
who work with families to help them cope with such difficult situations
and ensure that parents and their children are getting all the support
they need.
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Families also find it useful to meet others in similar
situations, so 91Èȱ¬-Start runs groups where they can meet and where
the children can play and have fun.
The grant of £8,538 over two years is going towards the costs
of running these groups.
Notes to Editors
To get a free 91Èȱ¬ Children in Need Party for Pudsey fundraising pack
call 0845 607 33 33 or go to bbc.co.uk/pudsey.
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Packs contains posters, stickers, fundraising materials,
and a magazine with ideas and advice on how to raise money.
