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To kick off #iwillWeek, we announce two more awards from our Potentials Fund for 10-20-year-olds.

Whether it’s local surfers helping young people to improve their emotional health or a youth club acting as a springboard for social mobility – our latest funding awards are aimed at getting young people involved in social action.

As part of #iwillWeekOpen in a new window, we're splitting more than £400,000 between two projects through our Potentials Fund.

The fund was set up in December 2016, along with our Opportunities Fund, as part of our new volunteering strategy.

With a total of £3 million to be allocated to help 10-20-year-olds get involved in volunteering, the first recipients of awards were announced a year ago.

To mark #iwillWeek, the remainder of the fund – made up of match-funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the Big Lottery Fund – is being awarded to The Wave Project and UK Youth.

The Wave Project began as a pilot in Cornwall, using local surfers to work with young people, teach them how to surf and, in the process, reduce anxiety and improve their emotional health.

While UK Youth is a network of more than 5,000 youth clubs across the country which engages young people in physical activity and uses social action to improve their lives.

A concept that our executive director of sport, Phil Smith, is a great admirer of.

“Through social action young people can help others get active and benefit themselves in lots of ways; social action can do wonders for job and career prospects, mental health and making friends,” he said.

“That’s why we pledged to support the #iwill campaign and made volunteering and social action a key part of our strategy.

“We’re delighted to be helping these two projects enable more young people to be the catalysts for change in their neighbourhood.”

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