The Giving Something Back programme officially launches

Jack Petchey Foundation awards over £200,000 to enable meaningful volunteering opportunities for young people.

On Wednesday 12^th February we celebrated the launch of our latest Open Grants scheme, the Giving Something Back programme which will work with a range of schools and organisations in 2020 to develop meaningful volunteering opportunities for young people across London and Essex.

Sixteen organisations attended the event and shared how they were planning to use the grant to increase and support youth volunteering opportunities in their organisation.

Leyla Priest, our youngest speaker at the event at aged 12, represented Hatfield Peverel FC and their project to upscale their mixed gender football tournament this year.

Leyla said: “I’m extremely excited to get this event up and running for this year. Learning from last year, we can make it more successful and make the message clear: in 2020 I want to see the success that women’s football has had last year grow in strength this year in the local grassroots clubs.”

Jon Drane from Wellgate Community Farm, is planning to use the grant to enable young people to volunteer supporting school holiday clubs for 11-17 year olds.

“We’re excited [about the Give Something Back programme] because we’re getting an opportunity to meet and support more young people.”

Organisations taking part in the programme include:

Barking and Dagenham Progress Project, who will be supporting young people with disabilities to volunteer on their delivering centre-based projects
Centre 404, who will be supporting young people with learning difficulties to volunteer, delivering peer support projects and shadowing colleagues in back office/ operational roles
Dalmain Athletic Girls FC, who will be supporting young people through providing five accredited coaching courses. Combined with non-accredited training it will enable delivery of coordinated sporting sessions in their local communities
GirlGuiding UK, who will be supporting young people across London and Essex to recognise the importance of volunteering opportunities. An added benefit will be obtaining a Duke of Edinburgh accreditation
Hatfield Peverel FC, who will be supporting young people volunteer to coordinate and manage a football tournament
Hylands Community Amateur Sports, who will support young people to volunteer to lead the development of a website highlighting the organisation’s various programmes
Kingsley Hall, who will be supporting young people to volunteer in a range of social action, community-focused and enterprise initiatives
Laburnum Boat Club, who will support young people with learning disabilities to volunteer managing a community café
Lambeth Volunteer Police Cadets, who will support young people to be actively involved in volunteering at community events
Magpie Dance, who will be supporting young people with learning disabilities to oversee different aspects of delivering community dance sessions and performances
Ministry of Stories, who will offer training to deliver creative literature (writing) sessions/ activities to groups of young children living in Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets
Reaching Higher, who will be support young people to volunteer in the organisation’s various enrichment programmes
St Francis Hospice, who will support young people to volunteer in various roles supporting a hospice, education centre and charity shop
Thurrock Swimming Club¸ who will be supporting young people to obtain a national professional qualification and volunteer to lead coaching sessions
Ursuline Links, who will be supporting young people to volunteer supporting short social justice projects – participating in soup kitchens and visiting care homes. In addition, they will support the delivery of enrichment day camps/ holiday activities for primary school children
Wellgate Community Farm, who will be supporting young people to volunteer at a community farm.
World Heart Beat Music Academy, who will be supporting young people to deliver music workshops and outreach activities in local communities.