Cllr Ben Coleman, Cllr Sharon Holder, Cllr Stephen Cowan and Kevin McGrath, Representative Deputy Lord Lieutenant for H&F, launch the King Charles III Coronation Youth Fund with DanceWest
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has approved more than £700,000 in funding for 26 local organisations that support young people.
These grants from our new King Charles III Coronation Youth Fund represent a record level of council funding to youth services in H&F. Another £300,000 will be awarded in a second round next year.
Cllr Stephen Cowan, Leader of H&F, said: "Supporting young people to have the brightest possible future is not just essential for them, but it's the best way of improving society for everyone.
"That's why we're investing a record amount into youth services and youth centres – which stands in stark contrast to the Government's approach of slashing funding to youth services by over 70 per cent in the past 10 years."
The Coronation Youth Fund reflects HM The King's lifelong dedication through the Prince's Trust to improving the lives of disadvantaged young people. Half of the fund will be allocated to sports and leisure infrastructure projects.
Pride and purpose
The new fund – designed to support 11 to 24-year-olds – was launched in April at the DanceWest studios in the Sands End Arts & Community Centre in Fulham.
Local groups will now help us deliver inspirational events and youth activities, as they improve facilities to help more young people access arts, music, drama and sport.
In April, the Representative Deputy Lord Lieutenant for H&F, Mr Kevin McGrath OBE, said: "The Coronation will reflect the monarch's role today and will also look towards the future. So as a tribute, it is both wonderful and fitting to see Hammersmith & Fulham Council make this commitment to continue to fully support the future of its local children and young people.
"The King Charles III Coronation Youth Fund serves as an important marker of this historic event and is sure to leave a lasting legacy across the borough."
The funding also reaffirms our commitment to community safety by working to give young people opportunities in life. By giving them a sense of pride and purpose, it aims to help prevent them becoming victims of gang crime and exploitation.
Groups awarded
The £1million King Charles III Coronation Youth Fund was entirely funded by community contributions negotiated by H&F taking a tough approach with property developers.
An award of £250,000 was given to the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust & Thames Valley Harriers, the country's premier elite athletics club, for new floodlights to be installed at the Linford Christie Stadium in White City, as well as the re-surfacing of its 400-metre athletics track and the covered 100-metre indoor straight track. This will benefit both the club and the entire local community who can use the facilities.
The 25 other local groups awarded funding are:
- The Brunswick Club – £45,026
- The Sulgrave Club – £35,896
- Masbro Youth Club/UPG – £35,470
- Sands End Arts & Community Centre and South Park youth basketball club – £34,000
- Young H&F – £30,000
- Sands End Association Projects in Action (SEAPIA) – £28,800
- Lyric Hammersmith - Lyric Learning – £27,792
- Sands End Arts & Community Centre recording studio – £26,705
- West London Zone Youth Club – £26,196
- Harrow Club evening youth sessions – £24,000
- Phoenix Youth Club – £21,400
- Nourish Hub – £16,040
- Fulham Reach Boat Club – £15,798
- DanceWest – £14,956
- LMP Action – £14,800
- Fulham FC Foundation – £9,880
- JK Arts/Masbro Centre – £8,880
- Bubblesqueak – £6,880
- White City Theatre Project – £6,000
- QPR in the Community – £5,981
- Let's Unite for Autism – £5,932
- Tywnholm TRA sports club – £5,000
- Fanny Eaton Play – £4,800
- Minaret Community Centre – £4,260
- 0-10 Community basketball club – £2,448
TOTAL – £706,440
Fantastic news
"This is fantastic news – the grant means we can carry on providing stimulating, engaging activities and opportunities for more than 650 young people a year," said Piers Player, a senior youth worker at The Brunswick Club in Fulham. "We're seen as a lifeline by many families in Fulham. They will be just as delighted as we are with the news!"
Andrea Broughton, chair of Thames Valley Harriers based at the Linford Christie Stadium in White City, said: "We're delighted to receive this grant from H&F's Coronation Youth Fund. This will enable us to go ahead with the much-needed refurbishment of our outdoor running track and our covered sprinting area and enable us to install new floodlight facilities. We organise training and coaching sessions for children and young people on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays each week, and this refurbishment will ensure that young people in the borough will continue to benefit from the athletics coaching that our club can offer them."
While Nick Sazeides, manager of The Sulgrave Club in Hammersmith, said: "We're very pleased to learn that H&F is continuing to support The Sulgrave Club by awarding us £35,896 towards our youth provision for young people aged 11-19 years. Our good relationship with the borough dates back decades, so we're delighted to be able to continue this partnership. The Sulgrave Club is attended by more than 125 local 11-19 year olds each week - many of whom regard the club as their 'second family'. So this award will allow us to continue to offer young people the opportunity to take part in a range of activities while socialising with their peers."
For all the reactions about the King Charles III Coronation Youth Fund awards to local youth groups, read more here.
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