Massive financial boost for Derry community group
Culmore Community Partnership has received £500,000 of National Lottery funding to help local children and young people
A Derry community group is celebrating after being awarded almost £500,000 in National Lottery funding to support its work children and young people living in the Culmore area.
Culmore Community Partnership (CCP) was established by a group of volunteers in January 2018, they renovated the former Victoria Hall at Culmore Point Road to provide a community Hub for local residents.
Culmore Community Hub opened in May 2021 providing services, support and activities for the whole community.
One of these services was Culmore Youth Club, over the past 2-years the Club has been running 2-evenings per week with a membership of 240 children aged between 7yrs and 17yrs.
Una Cooper, Manager of Culmore Community Partnership said: “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way.
“Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to provide local children and young people aged 7yrs to 17yrs with the opportunity to benefit from mental and physical well-being support, a Youth Forum that will provide a safe space to have their say on decisions and services that affect them, environmental and climate awareness and action, volunteering and life skills development opportunities, cultural and social activities, and arts and community festival engagement.
“We will continue our work with local schools, sports clubs and voluntary groups in the Culmore and wider Council area to deliver the programme.”
The Culmore Youth Engagement programme will allow CCP to increase their youth club membership from 240 to 400 places over four years.
They want to help develop young community leaders who will have the skills and confidence to take up meaningful roles within the Culmore community.
Neil Doherty, CCP Chairman said: “The Culmore Youth Engagement programme will help us on our journey to create a connected and cohesive community with and for our children and young people.
“The National Lottery Community Fund has been a great support to Culmore and through their generous funding we have been able to bring much needed services, support and activities to Culmore for all ages.
“This new funding will allow us to continue to support, nurture, listen to and mentor our children and young people.”
Una added: “When we established Culmore Youth Club in 2021 we were overwhelmed by the response from the community.
“It quickly became apparent that our children and young people were struggling to deal with the mental, emotional and physical impact of the Covid 19 pandemic and the disruption to their education.
“Our children and young people are growing up in a world that is witnessing increasing war and conflict, a cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis. They are heavily influenced by online content and are often isolated and lonely.
“Our research has shown us that there are many of our members suffering from anxiety, low self-esteem, loneliness and feeling isolated.
“This National Lottery funding will help us strengthen our ongoing work to create a safe, nurturing environment for our children and young people where they will receive the support they need to make positive decisions about their life.”
A current member of Culmore Youth Club told us “The youth club has helped me in so many ways, I have gained the confidence to talk to new people and this has resulted in me making new friends.
“The youth club has given me a place to go outside of my house and school, and it is a place that is welcoming and makes me feel like I belong. Just getting out of the house for an hour or two to clear my head and to have fun has had a massive improvement on my general mood and my mental well-being.”
Kate Beggs, Northern Ireland Director of The National Lottery Community Fund said: “We’re delighted to be awarding almost £500,000 of National Lottery funding to Culmore Community Partnership.
"Over four years this funding will provide opportunities for children and young people in the area to improve their mental health, build self-esteem and feel better connected to their community.
“National Lottery players raise more than £30 million every week across the UK for good causes like this, and they can be proud to know that it is making such a difference to people in Northern Ireland.”
The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fundwill allow CCP to deliver Culmore Youth Club sessions 5-nights per week starting on Monday, October 2.
Monday and Friday nights will be drop-in sessions where Youth Club members can meet with their peers to make new friends, play games, chat and socialise.
Tuesday’s sessions will focus on Arts, Crafts and Festivals, Wednesday evenings will allow the children to learn more about the natural environment and get involved in social action activities such as litter picking and surveys.
Thursday evenings will focus on mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Una said: ”It’s up to parents and children to decide which evenings suit them best, children can attend one session per week or all five. We want offer our children and young people as much flexibility and support as possible.”
The Community Launch of the Culmore Youth Engagement programme will take place on Tuesday, September 19 from 5.30pm to 8.00pm at Culmore Community Hub.
There will be taster sessions for some of the activities that will be on offer at Culmore Youth Club. Local children and young people, accompanied by a parent, grandparent, or guardian are invited to attend to meet the staff and hear what’s on offer at the Youth Club.
Una said: “We will be having a Barbeque at the Hub so no need to worry about cooking for the family, just come along and enjoy activities and register your child for a place at the Youth Club. We’ll have lots of activities on offer to keep everyone entertained.”
If you would like to attend the Community Launch please contact Culmore Community Partnership on 028 71136 3713 or email [email protected].