Local project gets £260,000,00 funding to turn young people's passions into community action in the West Midlands region
The Haven Wolverhampton has been awarded £260,933.31 funding by v, the youth volunteering charity, to get young people positively involved in their communities.
The Haven Wolverhampton, which receives funding from Wolverhampton City Council, was set up in 1973 to provide safe, emergency, refuge accommodation for women and their children affected by domestic violence and homelessness. The Haven's first project operated from a small council house in Wolverhampton, which was run by volunteers. Volunteers over the years have continued to provide valuable direct support to women and children and administrative support to the organisation, which now has five refuges and a range of additional support services across the city of Wolverhampton. The Haven is also the accountable body for Women Organising in Wolverhampton (WOW), an umbrella agency of women's organisations and individuals which seeks to improve the lives of women and girls in Wolverhampton. The unwavering commitment, experience and skills of Gill Atkins, Chair, and The Haven Board of Directors, all of whom are volunteers --- has ensured that the organisation has gone from strength to strength and The Haven is now one of the largest refuges of its kind in the country!
The project will see 240 young people aged 16-25 participating in short, part and full time volunteering opportunities across a three year period. Young people will plan and deliver a range of activities for The Haven's service users based on their passions, skills and interests, which will strengthen the confidence and independence of women and children when resettling back into the community. Young volunteers will develop their own domestic violence awareness raising campaigns to help break down the myths and stereotypes of an abuse which is the single biggest killer of women worldwide. With the development of webpages such as ‘Facebook' and ‘MySpace' The Haven Wolverhampton's volunteering project has the potential to connect with thousands of young people around the world!
‘Generation Next! Young people act to eliminate Domestic Violence' is one of 152 projects across the country who will be funded by v as part of vinvolved, a new national youth volunteering programme backed by £75 million funding, which aims to inspire half a million more young people to volunteer in England. Kath Rees, Chief Executive of The Haven Wolverhampton, says: "We are very excited to be part of the vinvolved programme. The funding will enable us to engage more young people in the battle to end domestic violence." vinvolved has been designed by and for young people to make volunteering a compelling choice for all 16-25 year olds in England by tapping into their passions and concerns. The charity aims to change the image of volunteering and make it a ‘must-have' part of young people's lives. Terry Ryall, v's Chief Executive, says: "v is delighted to be able to fund this innovative and youth-led project, which will enable young people to get positively involved in Wolverhampton and surrounding areas." "Young people are at the heart of this new programme which aims to put them at the centre of our communities. Instead of seeing them as a problem to be fixed, we are giving them the chance to become a positive force for change." The volunteering opportunities will be available from April 2008.
For more information visit www.wearev.com or the young people's portal www.vinspired.com
Media enquiries: contact Kate Peden on 020 7299 8740 or katie.peden@geronimocommunications.com or Kaye Bartlett, The Haven Wolverhampton, on 01902 572173 or kayeb@havenrefuge.org.uk