Scottish Government
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Legacy 2014 funding to help young people

Second phase of joint initiative with Sport Relief to help most disadvantaged.

Funding is now available under phase two of the highly successful Scottish Sport Relief Home and Away Programme.

With support from the Scottish Government’s Legacy 2014 and Cashback for Communities Programme, the continuation of this joint initiative between the Scottish Government and Sport Relief will support projects in Scotland which use sport as a tool to help vulnerable and disadvantaged young people aged 11 to 24.

The total ‘Home’ element of the Scottish Sport Relief Home and Away Programme is worth £750,000 and is jointly funded by the Scottish Government and money raised through Sport Relief. The programme seeks to use the power and inspiration of sport to help young people who have limited opportunities or face significant challenges in their lives.

Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison said:

“Sport is fantastic way for young people to join in and be part of something, no matter what their personal circumstances. Projects which help them set and achieve personal goals are very important and I am delighted that phase two of the Scottish Sport Relief Home and Away Programme will enable voluntary organisations to support young people to overcome difficult life circumstances and make positive changes to their lives.”

The Government’s funding for the programme is part of its commitment to secure a lasting legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, both at ‘Home’ in Scotland and ‘Away’ in other parts of the Commonwealth. As part of the ‘Away’ element during this second phase, an additional £750,000 has gone to UNICEF to help them deliver projects in Bangladesh and Malawi.

The programme will support organisations which deliver projects on the ground designed to help young people in society who are disadvantaged either because of where they live, family experience (including domestic abuse), disability (including poor mental health), sexual orientation / gender identity, teenage pregnancy, homelessness, gang involvement, drug and alcohol abuse or because they are ex-offenders.

Information on how to apply for funding from the Scottish Sport Relief Home and Away Programme is available at: www.comicrelief.com/scottish-sport-relief-home-away-programme

Notes To Editors

Twenty-two organisations across Scotland have already benefited through the first phase of the Scottish Sport Relief Home and Away Programme and have received grants worth £2.5 million. These projects provide support to individuals living with mental health problems, older people suffering neglect or abuse and women and children affected by domestic abuse.

The Away element of the Scottish Sport Relief Home and Away Programme has also given grants worth a total of £2.5 million to four projects: two in Malawi, one in Uganda and one in South Africa. These projects are tackling a range of issues such as slum conditions, people facing malnutrition and poverty and children facing barriers in accessing mainstream education.

Cashback for Communities is a Scottish Government programme which takes funds recovered from the proceeds of crime and invests them into free activities and programmes for young people across Scotland. Since the inception of the Cashback for Communities programme in 2007, over £74 million has been recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The programme has funded 1.5 million activities and opportunities for young people.

Comic Relief is a UK charity, which aims to create a just world, free from poverty. To date, Comic Relief has raised over £960 million. That money has helped, and is helping, people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world.

In 2002 Comic Relief created the first ever Sport Relief. Now one of the UK’s biggest fundraising events, Sport Relief brings the entire nation together to get active, raise cash and change lives. Since 2002, seven Sport Reliefs have raised over £265 million.

For information about Comic Relief and the work it carries out, please visit www.comicrelief.com

Channel website: http://www.gov.scot/

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