‘Young people taking practical action in the service of others in order to create positive social change that is of benefit to the wider community as well as to the young person themselves.’ - Young Foundation
What is the #iWill Fund?
#iwill is a UK-wide campaign that aims to make social action part of life for as many 10 to 20 year-olds as possible by the year 2020. Through collaboration and partnership it is spreading the word about the benefits of youth social action. Grants between £1,000 and £5,000
Areas covered
Aims
The programme aims to increase overall participation of young people in meaningful social action from 40% to 60% by 2020, with a particular focus on deprived areas.
Social action involves activities such as campaigning, fundraising and volunteering and has huge potential to create enjoyable opportunities and skills development for young people, and in turn benefit the local people and places.
Step Up To Serve, Big Lottery Fund and the Government Office for Civil Society have invested £2million this year to fund groups delivering youth social action opportunities. Community Foundations will match this investment.
The #iwillFund looks to support activities that create opportunities for young people aged 10-20 to develop their character and their capacity to significantly contribute to their community.
An example of a project that meets the #iWill criteria well:
Talk the Talk CIC
Aiming to tackle the causes of domestic abuse in teenage relationships, Talk the Talk CIC received funding to deliver four ‘Healthy Relationships Peer Education Programmes’ to 40 young people aged 13-16. In turn, the Peer Educators will then design and deliver educational sessions to a further 600 peers aged 10-13. The sessions will cover a number of topics and awareness issues, including: self-respect & respect of others, self-esteem, confidence building, peer pressure and advice on healthy/unhealthy relationships.
Being youth led, the Peer Education Programme creates a powerful vehicle to create a lasting positive change in the local community. Young people naturally communicate with one another in meaningful ways and in a language that’s understood to them. This allows the Peer Educators to transfer the skills and knowledge gained from the programme to their fellow peers. The will engage with other young people, raising awareness and championing positive healthy relationships amongst their peers, promoting and challenging themes of trust, respect and communication.
Closing Date: Friday 7th February 2020 at 4pm