LNF Welcomes New Team Members

We would like to extended a warm welcome to the newest members of the LNF Team, Julie Kelham and Katie Low.
Julie Kelham is from the Peterborough Voluntary Sector Forum for Children, Young People and Families. VSF support community groups wanting to improve facilities for children and young people in their area so are well placed to advise them about the Local Network Fund.
“I enjoy promoting the Fund as it has the potential to allow groups to fulfil their wish lists and improve the local activities available to the children and young people!”

Katie Low who works for Young Lives in Huntingdon as the Young People’s Involvement Officer. Katie is responsible for supporting groups of young people involved in the PARC Project to become actively involved in local decision making processes, as well as working to promote the Local Network Fund (LNF) in Huntingdonshire.
“I really am excited to be working with the LNF and look forward to spreading its word further and supporting community groups in their applications to the Fund.”

If you known of any group that would be interested in receiving funding form the Local Network Fund please contact
Fleur Kerrecoe: LNF Development Officer fleur.kerrecoe@cambsacre.org.uk or tel: 01353 865024
Julie Kelham Peterborough VSF julie@vsforum.org.uk or tel: 01733 319973
Katie Low: Young Lives Huntingdon katie@young-lives.org.uk or tel: 01480 494333

We are sure that both Julie and Katie will have great success in reaching out to voluntary groups working with children and young people in Peterborough and Huntingdon. Their role will be to encourage groups to apply and assisting them in the application process., as well as raising the profile of the Fund in those areas. I will be supporting both Julie and Katie in their new roles and all the applicants throughout the whole process.

Successfully Funded Groups from the LNF September Panel Meeting.

Viva Youth Theatre The Viva Youth Theatre received a £7,000 grant to launch their Integr8 project. This is a pilot scheme for a new integrated youth theatre for young people with and without disabilities. The project aims to promote inclusion by offering opportunities for young people of mixed ability to participate in the arts together. The youth theatre will offer young people the opportunity to work with a professional theatre practitioner to develop theatre skills and devise work for performance. Littleport Youth Works The group have received funding of £6,495.52 to enable them to operate a youth club for the young people of Littleport. The club will provide various activities and training opportunities for the young people to engage in and also the group will encourage the young people to develop into managing the club. Histon and Impington Youth Club They have received funding of £6,919.56 for a new Rec Sports Club for young people. The new multi-use sports club will provide opportunities for healthy exercise in informal sport recreation for the young people on the Village Recreation Ground. The multi sports offered by the club will include football, basketball, unihoc, netball, and volleyball and sessions on healthy living and exercise will also be provided. There will be an after-school club for school years 7, 8 and 9, as well as an evening club for school years 9, 10, 11 and 12. Hilton PARC Project The PARC Project in Hilton aims to involve young people in their community by enabling them to have a voice in local decision-making through work with the Parish Council. The group of young people have been awarder a grant of £899.69 to organise an event aimed at bringing all the young people in their village together. This will take the form of a music night featuring local groups, by young people and for young people. They will have the opportunity to entertain their peer group and demonstrate their musical skills and abilities. The project aims to raise the profile of young people in the village and demonstrate to the Parish Council and wider community that young people can organise and run a safe and successful event for young people. Scamps Playgroup With a grant of £5,732.15 Scamps Playgroup were able to open throughout the holiday period, running family sessions to include parents and older siblings. This enabled them to provide families with access to a supportive network of other parents and opportunities for child development and family support. The group aim to provide a stimulating and fun place for children and adults to join in session activities, which help to develop their confidence, encourage their special skills and support a sense of community spirit in a safe environment. Sessions included storytelling with participation and introduction to drama, dance and movement using rhymes, poetry alongside contemporary and classical music, arts and craft sessions related to environment seasonal themes, fun and therapeutic play through role and imaginary play as well as social eating with healthy snack time. Ely Youth Initiative The group have been awarded £6,650.00 to run a project, which focuses on capturing young peoples views on youth provision through consultation. The next stage will be to put on an event to present the information, highlight identified gaps to providers and funders. Get commitments from key agencies on how they will address the gaps and sign post young people to youth provision and relevant help/advice agencies. The project will identify why they do not access the available provision and lead to more targeted, relevant and young people friendly youth provision that has been identified by young people. Salvation Army A grant of £2,109.12 will fund the groups project to develop an outside learning environment, which will be accessible all year round. The group have designated an area, but need to provide a large awning to ensure the children are safeguarded against extreme weather i.e. sun, rain etc. Outside play is essential to children’s development, as it gives them the opportunity to experience being out in the fresh air, to work together, to learn together and to have fun. The group will use this opportunity to increase the parents and carers awareness of this as the main educators of their children.