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Thirty charities, youth groups and adult support centres in the Channel Islands, stand to benefit from a charitable donation of more than £18,000 from The Channel Islands Co-operative Society.
The organisations have been chosen to receive a share of the Helping Hands fund, which was set up in 1995 to provide financial support to good causes in the Channel Islands. Since its launch 23 years ago, the fund has provided approximately £270,000 to help groups in Jersey and Guernsey.
£9,000 was split between 16 charities in Jersey, while a further £9,000 was shared between 14 charities in Guernsey.
‘It’s always a difficult process choosing which charities to support as there are so many good causes in the islands doing great work. We look at each individual application and try to make our donations benefit as many charities and people as possible,’ said Katey White, the Society’s Membership and Community Manager.
Among this year’s recipients in Guernsey are the Youth Commission and Ernie’s Angels, which received £500 to go towards a grant for funeral costs for terminally ill children.
The Youth Commission helps young people to reach their potential. In support of its efforts to help people proactively manage their mental health, they weregiven £1,500 towards providing a specialist handbook to practice cognitive behavioural skills (CBT) at home and share with their parents.
‘The funding from the Co-op will ensure we can provide young people with ‘Decider Skills’ books, which are a series of exercises designed to educate adults and children to understand and manage their mental health. The Youth Commission staff invest a lot of time teaching these skills and, with the additional resource of course books, young people will be able to continue their learning at home,’ said Charlie Cox, service manager at the Youth Commission.
‘Emotional and mental health are one of our top priorities and this preventative tool will help youngsters to cope better as they develop in to their teenage years. The children and young people’s survey revealed that less than 50% of children in Years 8 and 10 are happy with who they are. We are determined to change this statistic and we believe that ‘Decider Skills’ books are a step in the right direction to achieving this. Thanks to this generous donation from the Co-op, we will now be able to reach even more children and young people,’ added Ms Cox.
In Jersey, Beresford Street Kitchen, a charity which trains and supports people with autism and other learning disabilities within a friendly and caring environment, received £1,000.
LGBTQ Youth Jersey also received £500 in funding. The project provides young people with a safe space for LGBTQ individuals to meet and make friends with like-mindedpeople. It allows them to express who they are and be confident in doing so, with no fear of being discriminated against, whilst participating in sessions to expand their skill set.
‘We are so grateful to the Co-op for this donation. The funds will go towards running youth club sessions and programmes to provide further support for LGBTQ young people. These sessions give them the opportunity to learn about their own identities and to work on building relationships with the wider community. It also helps young people to experience a sense of belonging and being an important part of the community,’ said David Bras, assistant youth worker at LGBTQ Youth Jersey.
He added: ‘For some LGBTQ young people, the experience of being open about who they are can bring about some challenges, which at times can lead to issues such as poor mental health, distress and self-harm. It’s important for these young people to be supported and to be heard. Then, together as a community, we can learn from them and protect themfrom vulnerable situations, which may hinder their development, future success and overall wellbeing.’
The Society received over 140requests for funding across the Channel Islands for this year’s initiative.
