Groups in Glasgow, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire, Fife, Highland, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries Edinburgh and the Lothians to share funds.

Projects which aim to give young Scots the skills and confidence for a brighter future are sharing in £1.9 million from the Young Start programme.

Run by the Big Lottery Fund Scotland, Young Start awards money from dormant bank and building society accounts to support a range of projects to help young people aged eight to 24 years old reach their full potential.  These latest 15 awards to groups from the Isle of Tiree to Wigtownshire will allow young people across Scotland to access a wide range of new opportunities.

SambaYaBama will reach out to Glasgow’s untapped young musical talent as an award of £50,000 means they will deliver an ambitious city wide street taster programe to over 1,400 youngsters aged between 12 and 19 years of age.  A new 50 strong youth street band will then be formed giving the young people the chance to perform with the main group and to play  and be supported by more experienced musicians.

Roddy Dickson, Musical Director, SambaYaBamba, said, “This project represents an amazing opportunity for young people in Glasgow to learn from some of the best tutors around and be plugged into Scotland’s ever- growing samba street band scene.  Besides the musical benefits of being part of a band like this, the social benefits for the young people cannot be overstated.  It will help increase their self-esteem, build self-confidence, develop social skills and help them make new friends from all over the city.

“We’re absolutely over the moon to be able to offer this type of training to young people and help grow the next generations of Scotland’s community musicians.”

Eilidh Graham, Project Trainee and caixa player, said, “I was very lucky to have a samba band at my high school.  It brought me so much in terms of culture and also my confidence was boosted hugely.  I made new friends, was involved in events I’d never experienced, met amazing, inspirational musicians and had a lot of fun.  All of this has inspired me to live in a different way and to continue with the arts in a community sense.”

Thanks to an award of £46,414, Lothian Autistic Society will be able deliver their new innovative award scheme for young people with autism in Edinburgh and the Lothians. The programme will work with youngsters aged between 12 and 18 years of age supporting them to be more socially included and to help boost self-esteem and confidence.

Amanda Sinclair, Care and Support Manager, Lothian Autistic Society, said, “We are thrilled to receive this funding to will allow young people from East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian and Edinburgh to access a wide range of opportunities in their respective communities. As far as we are aware this is the first award scheme of its kind for young people on the autistic spectrum.  With the support of trained staff, the Summit Awards takes each child through six certificates: challenge, community, talent, social, life skills and a personal set goal. Receiving this funding will have a huge impact on the children and young people who participate in the programme. “

Tiree Community Development Trust will be able to continue to run their popular Youth Work Project after an award of £38,377.  Over 120 of the island’s young people regularly take part in the wide variety of activities that the project provides including a weekly youth club and sporting and artistic workshops.

Andy Wright, Finance & Governance Manager, Tiree Community Development Trust, said, “We are absolutely delighted to hear that Young Start has chosen to support our project.  This will have a huge impact on young people’s lives here on Tiree by enabling us to continue our successful Youth Work Project.

“Due to the nature of island life and being four hours by ferry from the mainland, organised opportunities for young people to learn, socialise and just have fun are very limited. This will also allow us to develop and support a range of groups including Duke of Edinburgh and our popular “Fresh Fridays” group where young people will have the opportunity to learn new skills like cooking and crafts as well as taking part in a variety of activities from water sports to biking.“

Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, said yesterday, “Young Start helps ensure that Scotland’s next generation has the best possible start in life.   All of today’s seven successful projects share that ambition, so I am delighted to announce this latest investment totalling £641,707

“The awards include one to deliver a city wide programme of street music taster sessions in Glasgow while another will set up an innovative award scheme for young people with autism in Edinburgh and the Lothians.   All of the projects will make a huge difference by enabling children and young people to gain the abilities, skills and confidence required for positive and healthy futures.”

For more information about Young Start visit the website at: https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/global-content/programmes/scotland/young-start

The other 11 projects receiving funding from Young Start are:

Regen:FX Youth Trust -  South Lanarkshire
£49,596
The organisation will continue delivering its youth work training programme to young people from across the region which will enable them to become youth workers.

Bad Idea Organisation C.I.C 0 Glasgow City
£48,282
The organisation will run a training programme to develop entrepreneurial and digital skills in young people aged 16- 18.

Unity Enterprise – South Ayrshire/North Ayrshire 
£49,880
The organisation will run a two year befriending project for young carers in South and North Ayrshire.

Scottish Christian Alliance – Fife
£34,743
The group will expand its service of social enterprise activities for young people in a wide choice of available workshops.

Templar Arts and Leisure Centre – Argyll and Bute
£49,1000
The group will run an arts programme comprising of weekly drop in and day sessions for young people interested in digital art and craft skills.

Oasis Youth Centre Management Committee – Dumfries and Galloway
£49,720
The group wil deliver a two year employability and skills development programme culminating in community and youth events organised by the young people

Bridging the Gap (Gorbals Ecumenical Project) – Glasgow City
£25,940
The group will be able to continue to run their schools transitions project, offering a range of youth volunteering opportunities based around a transition and mentoring programme.

Aberlour Child Care Trust – Glasgow City 
£48,148
The organisation will engage young people from across the city in a community arts project.

Methilhill Community Children’s Initiative Ltd – Fife
£33,098
The group will be able to continue to run activities for children and young people from the levenmouth area of Fife.

Wigtownshire Health and Well Being Partnership -  Dumfries and Galloway
£20,330
The organisation will run a summer activities programme for local young people aged 11 – 25 years.

Reidvale Adventure Play Association Ltd – Glasgow City
£49,279
The group will run a programme of creative and physical activities for local children and young people.  The sessions will run on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 0141 242 1451
Email: lorna.mcniven@biglotteryfund.org.uk
Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Twitter: @BIGScotland #biglottery
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundScotland 

Notes to Editors

• Dormant accounts are defined in the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 as those which have seen no customer-initiated activity for at least 15 years.
• In September 2011 the Scottish Government formally issued instructions to the Big Lottery Fund to distribute dormant accounts funding for the benefit of Scotland’s voluntary and community sector.
• The Reclaim Fund Ltd. (RFL), which was established in March 2011 to receive and invest dormant account balances across the UK, transferred the first tranche of monies from dormant bank and building society accounts to BIG on 2 August 2011. Scotland will receive an 8.4% share of the total funds to be distributed.
• The Distribution of Dormant Account Money (Apportionment) Order 2011 prescribes that Scotland will receive 8.4% of the dormant accounts money to be made available for distribution by the Big Lottery Fund under the 2008 Act. The estimated grants budget for 2014/15 is £4.8m. It should be noted that this figure is a median projection and may go up or down.
• The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
• Since June 2004 we have awarded over £8 billion to projects that change the lives of millions of people. Every year we fund 13,000 small local projects tackling big social problems like poor mental health and homelessness.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £34 billion has been raised and more than 450,000 grants awarded.