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5000 GRANT AWARDED TO HALEWOOD YOUTH IN COMMUNITY CENTRE
THE Halewood Youth in Community Centre has just been awarded a £5000 grant to help improve the facilities it offers young people in Halewood. The grant has been made by Nestlé's Make Space campaign, a national project that funds and supports the work of after-school clubs around the country.
The Halewood youth club was set up in 1965, when it was originally a boys' club. It is now for all children and has a membership of 120. The additional money will enable Halewood youth club to purchase equipment and furniture to complete the chill out and activity areas, providing the young people with a pool table, music system and TV. The grant will also allow the club to work towards full accreditation by Make Space, meaning that they have the opportunity to become full members and apply for additional benefits such as the unique music and sports activity programmes.
Halewood youth club's organiser Mark Nelson, said:- "We are thrilled by this generous gift and delighted to know that our work has been recognised in this way. It is critical that our young people can socialise safely in places other than at school, and this grant means we now have resources in place to help us provide those amenities."
The £5000 grant is 1 of 22 new awards currently being made by the Make Space campaign in this, the fourth round of the programme's drive to build a new network of contemporary after-school clubs for young people aged 11-16 throughout England. At the end of this fourth stage over 70 clubs will have benefited from the funding and many more awards are planned.
Halewood youth club had to meet stringent criteria to qualify for the award, having to demonstrate, for example, how it caters for the needs of its young members. The club also had to show that it is equipped with an area for children to 'chill out', quiet spaces for study plus access to sports and creative activities.
Baroness Thornton, chair of the Make Space Development Fund, said:- "I am delighted to award this grant to the Halewood youth club, which recognises the determination of its members and leaders in providing suitable amenities and activities for young people in this area."
The Make Space campaign is funded by the Nestlé Trust and managed by children's charity 4Children (formerly Kids' Clubs Network.)
Celebrity 'Cheesy Grin' campaign supports National Smile Week
NATIONAL Smile Week runs from May 15-21 and is supported by thousands of dentists, schools, individuals and organisations across the country.
Among the many groups supporting the campaign are Cheesestrings, whose complimentary Cheesy Grin campaign boasts celebrity endorsement from none other than Olympic swimmer and TV presenter, Sharon Davies.
Like National Smile Week, the cheesy Grin campaign is all about encouraging children to look after their teeth and for their Mums to appreciate the importance of healthy eating.
As part of the campaign, children who visit the dentist will be rewarded with a Cheestrings Cheesy Grin sticker and certificate, while Mums will benefit from healthy eating tips and advice.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, commented:-
"Cheese helps to reduce tooth decay by neutralising acids in the mouth. It is particularly good as an alternative to chewing gum at the end of a meal. The calcium contained in cheese also helps children to build healthy teeth and bones."
A recent National Diet and Nutrition survey found that 4 out of 5 children fail to eat the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables and 3 portions of dairy foods per day.
FRIENDSHIP ACROSS THE IRISH SEA
THE current Capital of Culture is to learn more about its counterpart Liverpool this weekend. 8 youngsters from Liverpool Community Spirit's Youth Council are flying to Cork, which holds the 2005 title today, Friday, May 13.
The 4 boys and 4 girls aged 14 to 19 years old representing Liverpool's diverse cultural, ethnic and faith communities are taking part in an initiative which allows young people from inner-city areas to engage in cultural activity.
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The participating young people from both cities will explore how the Capital of Culture award impacts on their lives and their communities.
The exchange will include a tour of the Glen district of Cork, with social and creative art activity. They will also watch a performance of Sacred Move - a cross arts dance theatre production exploring Liverpool's diverse cultural heritage, which is being performed in Cork.
Sacred Move was funded by Liverpool Culture Company's Creative Community grants programme and was first seen at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral in 2004 as part of the Year of Faith celebrations. It features a multi-faith cast of professional dancers, musicians and poet including Bisakha
Sarker, one of the UK's leading exponents of South Asian dance, and Liverpool's Rastafarian poet Levi
Tafari. It is billed as a soulful evening of new dance, live music and spoken word.
The Youth Council members will interview Bishakha, Levi and others as part of their documentation of the exchange through film and photography. They will share their experiences with their own communities on their return to Liverpool.
Dr Matthew Thompson, Liverpool Community Partnership co-ordinator and exchange project manager said:-
"Our Youth Council engages in citizenship projects promoting community welfare in their local
neighbourhood. Opportunities like this exchange enable our young people to develop an awareness of other communities, their culture and heritage and share models of good practice that can be adopted in their own communities."
Executive member for culture, Councillor Warren Bradley, said:- "The arts and culture have an important part to play in the regeneration and sustainability of our cities. While Cork is in the midst of its year as European Capital of Culture, this exchange is a unique opportunity to share experiences with young people who can speak with authority about the positive impact of culture on their communities."
Top trio back tennis tournament
HAVE you heard the one about the footballer, the politician and the tennis player? It's no joke - the trio are throwing their weight behind the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament 2005. The Leader of Liverpool City Council, Councillor Mike Storey, is teaming up with ex-Liverpool captain Phil Thompson and former British number one Barry Cowan to become Official Ambassadors for the tournament. They will be raising awareness of the tournament and generating interest in the sport among the city's football-mad youths.
Councillor Storey said:- ''It's fantastic for Liverpool to host this tremendous event, which continues to grow in prestige and popularity each year. This tournament has really captured the imagination of people in Liverpool over these past few years and I'm sure it will leave a lasting impression on our young sports fans. By bringing tennis to the community, I hope we can nurture their enthusiasm and talent and
hopefully produce future champions of our own."
Phil Thompson said:- "The tournament is a fantastic opportunity for the kids across the region to experience a different sport other than football and see it played by professionals at the height of their game and in a public park! The event is played in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere but you can see the players are out there to win and it's great to see them taking time to chat with the kids who attend the
tournament".
Barry Cowan said:- "I'm honoured and excited to be an Ambassador for the Liverpool International. Both the city and the area are close to my heart as I grew up in the region and the tournament is rapidly growing into a regular fixture for the city. I hope one day Liverpool will produce a world class tennis player!"
The tournament is organised by Northern Vision Ltd, in partnership with Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool Culture Company. Legendary names including Martina Navratilova and Pat Cash will be among the stars in action at Calderstones Park on June 8-12.
Tournament Director, Anders Borg, said:- "We are delighted that Mike, Phil and Barry are showing such commitment to the event. It is our ambition to work together to raise awareness of the tournament and the game of tennis itself across the region in an attempt to make tennis Liverpool's second most popular sport. However, I think we will need a miracle to beat the popularity of football!"
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