£25,000 available for Jersey charities

Tuesday 02 June 2015

The 2015 Barclays Community Awards is offering £25,000 in grants to Jersey charities.

Local charities are invited to apply for a share of the funds to support projects which help young people develop the financial, enterprise and employability skills they need in order to fulfil their potential.

Charities have until Friday 10 July to submit their application for the awards, which are open to all registered charities and organisations looking for a grant to fund a local project or initiative.

Now in its ninth year, the awards are aligned with Barclays’ global commitment to support young people through its community initiative ‘5 Million Young Futures’. 

Last year £24,000 was shared between four Jersey charities: Jersey Employment Trust, Words and Numbers Matter, Autism Jersey and Brighter Futures.

The Jersey Employment Trust supports people with disabilities and long term health conditions to prepare for and maintain employment in Jersey. The charity used the £5,735 grant to fund an employability scheme for year 10 students with barriers to employment at Le Rocquier School. 

The project featured a series of workshops designed to help students learn key work skills such as team work, problem solving and effective communication.

Working in partnership with the Bosdet Foundation at Les Ormes, students carried out work tasters and workshops in order to gain an insight into different areas of work.  

In the final session Rebecca O’Connell, Service and Support Manager for Barclays in Jersey, presented certificates to the students for successfully completing the programme. 

“It was fantastic to see the funds from the Community Awards be used so effectively and make a lasting impact in the lives of young people in Jersey,” she said.

Amanda Berry at the JET said: “We are very grateful to Barclays and the Community Awards for funding this project which is so important for the future of our community. By carrying out group sessions with pupils we were able to gain a much more valuable insight into their individual skill sets meaning we are better able to give them the support they need.”

Paul Declat, Director at Barclays in Jersey, said: “I am pleased that last year’s funding has made a real and lasting difference to the projects run by the winning charities and hope we can do the same for more charity projects this year.”

“At Barclays we think it is very important to support initiatives that give young people in Jersey the opportunities and skills they need to gain or return to employment. We welcome applications from any local charity which aims to help young people in the community reach their potential.”

The Community Awards will be presented to the chosen charities at an evening reception in September.