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Last month Heart of Bucks and Buckinghamshire Council awarded funding to a range of local groups and organisations running initiatives which promote positive emotional wellbeing for children and young people.
A total of £90,518 has been provided from the Young People’s Wellbeing Fund to eight different projects across Buckinghamshire:
Action 4 Youth: Mentoring for vulnerable young people aged 11-18 in Wycombe and South Bucks to reduce mental ill health and equip participants with the tools to manage their emotional wellbeing.
Buckinghamshire Mind: Mental health and wellbeing afterschool clubs for children aged 7 – 11, teaching the ‘5 Ways to Wellbeing’ and mindfulness strategies, using a variety of creative activities and picture books to communicate and embed learning and strategies.
Global Feedback Ltd: A project hosting school holiday events, workshops and weekend ‘cook-alongs’ using food as a hook for young people to understand the connections between food and mood.
Mindful Ballers CIC: The programme combines mental health education, social skills training, trauma specific therapies and mentoring alongside physical activity to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young men aged 14-16 who are at risk of or have been in contact with the Criminal Justice System.
One-Eighty: A preventative mental health project supporting vulnerable young people aged 11-13 transitioning from Primary to Secondary school.
Sport in Mind: Provides 2 x 1 hour sport and physical activity sessions for young people aged 10-14 experiencing poor mental health across 39 weeks.
Wycombe Swan Theatre (Trafalgar Entertainment Trust): A wellbeing and performing arts focused project for supporting LGBTQ+ young people aged 14-18.
Youth Concern: A weekly mental health support group and counselling service for gender nonconforming young people.
The Young People’s Wellbeing Fund was first launched in 2023. It is administered by Heart of Bucks on behalf of Buckinghamshire Council. To date we have awarded more than £184k to charities and community groups working to improve the mental and physical health of young people across Buckinghamshire.
Angela Macpherson, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said: “Once again, we are delighted to be able to support such a wide range of projects that are aimed at helping children and young people to better manage their mental health. We know that young people can face a variety of challenges as they grow up and it is important that they are provided with the skills and ability to be able to cope with these challenges and know how and where to get help and support.
Henry Allmand, Heart of Bucks CEO said: “Heart of Bucks is pleased to have once again partnered with Buckinghamshire Council on the Young People’s Wellbeing Fund. We are passionate about supporting the future of our county. These eight organisations are all doing amazing work and I’m delighted we have been able to assist their efforts to improve the lives of so many of Buckinghamshire’s young people.
Quotes from some of our grant recipients:
We are delighted to have been awarded a grant from the Young People’s Wellbeing Fund to support Action4Youth’s mentoring initiatives at our youth centre, The Junction in High Wycombe, and within the wider community in Bucks. Through this funding, we will work together with young people who need structured support to help them to find ways to manage their mental health and to build strategies to boost wellbeing and aspirations. We are very grateful to Heart of Bucks and look forward to partnering with them on this vital initiative. Jenifer Cameron, CEO, Action4Youth
I am absolutely delighted that we have been successful in our grant application, which will significantly enhance the youth services that Sport in Mind provide in Buckinghamshire. Our youth service provides a vital intervention to support children and young people with their emotional wellbeing in an inclusive, non competitive environment, and alongside our youth journals, provides a key tool in their understanding of the positive impact physical activity has on our mental health. I couldn’t be happier that we are able to bring this service to the area. Thank you to everyone involved in making this happen. Neil Harris, Founder and CEO of Sport in Mind
We’re incredibly grateful to Heart of Bucks and Buckinghamshire Council for awarding us a grant from the Young People’s Wellbeing Fund to bring vital creative arts experiences to High Wycombe’s young people. Due to the cost-of-living crisis and being based in the most financially deprived area in Bucks, many local young people can’t take part in high quality theatre projects, even low-cost ones like ours. This funding means we can offer a unique performance opportunity for young people aged 14-18 who are passionate about performance whilst tackling an LGBTQ+ play which explores wellbeing, acceptance, and love. Wycombe Swan
Youth Concern was delighted to receive a grant from the Young People’s Wellbeing Fund. The grant will enable us to continue running ‘Butterflies’, Aylesbury Vale’s only gender identity social group for LGBTQ+ young people. It will also fund counselling. According to research conducted by Pace, a mental health charity, 48% of LGBTQ+ under 26s had attempted suicide, 59% had considered it and 59% of transgender young people said they had deliberately hurt themselves. Quote from one of our beneficiaries “It’s so helpful to just release everything to someone and for them to listen to you and take in what you’ve said. It’s so helpful to get feedback about why things happen and why you feel the way you do – and to process it all with someone else. It makes you feel like you aren’t on your own when you are struggling. Hannah Asquith, Youth Concern
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