Young Scots get creative with £340k funding boost

7 Dec 2015 12:53 PM

Groups in Kintyre, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perthshire and Fife to share funds

The Kingdom of Fife has a proud musical tradition producing a string of successful bands from The Proclaimers to King Creosote.  Now a new generation of young musicians have the chance to fine-tune their skills in a recording studio thanks to Young Start funding announced today (DECEMBER  7).

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.

Thanks to the award of £49,350, Heart and Sound, based in Dunfermline, will be able to continue to run their project, set in a community recording studio, which allows young people interested in music and film to record videos and band demos.  They will work with up to 300 local youngsters developing their creative talents in free weekly workshops giving them the opportunity to express themselves as an artist, songwriter, sound engineer or film producer.

Steven Chalmers, Manager, Heart and Sound, said, “The Young Start grant will enable us to continue to engage with young people and build their confidence by running a cutting edge media and recording studio that enables young people to learn new skills in an environment that is relevant and exciting.  This funding has given us a one of a kind project in the area that allows young people to run and manage a recording studio, creating volunteering opportunities and experiences that raise self-esteem and develop 21st century skill sets including filmography, sound engineering and web based media.”

Strathmore Centre for Youth Development (SCYD) will use their award of £50,000 to run a unique project designed to forge strong links between younger and older people in rural Perthshire.

The group will set up an intergenerational advisory group who  will agree and deliver a plan of activities such as a Skype Club and an afternoon tea circle, each specially designed for the different age groups to showcase and share their skills and knowledge.
 
Ann Bailey, Senior Youth Worker, SCYD, said, “Young Start funding for the “Happy to Help” project will enable us to work with many young and older people, helping them to break down barriers from all sides and to learn from each other.  Sometimes people living in a rural area can experience feelings of isolation or loneliness and this project is designed to combat that whilst bringing different generations together.

“The world experienced by today’s young people is dramatically different to that of their grandparents and this joint journey of exploration and learning will be both fun and fulfilling.”

Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, said, “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 £341,534.
 
“Each of these awards also shares another aim - giving young people chances to develop skills for a better future. In Fife, young people will have opportunities to explore and develop their creative abilities while gaining valuable skills that they can use for years to come.   In Perthshire, different generations will be brought together, sharing their experience, wisdom and sense of fun, to forge new friendships and learn from each other.”

For more information about Young Start visit the website at:-
https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/global-content/programmes/scotland/young-start
 
The other five projects receiving funding from Young Start today are:-

Enable Scotland, Fife
£49,909
The project will empower young people with learning disabilities to lead more independent lives by using a peer education programme.

Kintyre Youth Cafe, Argyll and Bute 
£43,000
The project will work to provide local young people with access to volunteering and employment placements with the chance to get qualifications and on the job experience to help them move to further education or employment.

Paragon Ensemble Ltd, Glasgow
£50,000
The project will run two year music and dance programme for young people aged between six and 20. 

Parkhead Youth Project, Glasgow
£49,275
The project will work to create a personal development programme aimed at improving the lives of young people in the East End of Glasgow.

GTS Solutions, Edinburgh
£50,000
The project will run a hospitality employability programme for young people aged between 16 and 24 who are not currently in employment.

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