The Somerset Youth Fund
We created The Somerset Youth Fund to bring together local people passionate about supporting young people in Somerset. By supporting this Collective Giving Fund, you’ll join with others to make a greater impact with your giving and change young lives across our county.
The Somerset Youth Fund is driven by research and consultation with charities and young people. This means your donation will make the most impact possible.
Through this Fund we aim to significantly grow the funding we provide to local charities supporting young people. Following the research and consultation we have highlighted the 3 following priorities for our funding over the next few years:
- Increase opportunities for young people in receipt of Government benefits, with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), living in rural or coastal areas, or areas of high deprivation.
- Improve access to counselling and support for young people experiencing mental health problems.
- Strengthen the transition to adulthood for young people leaving care.
Our supporters
Founding Donors:
- Maureen Whitmore
Donors:
- Cornwall Glass
- Dillington Farms
- Ewen Cameron Charitable Trust
- The Ringham Fund
Why Somerset’s young people need our support
Growing up in Somerset has many benefits: wonderful countryside, a strong sense of community and a feeling of safety.
But life in a rural county also brings challenges. Somerset’s young people are often isolated, live further from opportunities they need as they become young adults, or struggle with social or emotional problems without enough support.
In Somerset, 8% of the population – or 47,000 people – live in communities ranked within the 20% most deprived in England.
Growing up in poverty can have a ripple effect. It can mean you’re more likely to experience mental health problems, have worse educational outcomes and fewer opportunities to experience sport, the arts or other hobbies that build skills and confidence and enrich young lives.
We know many young people and their carers find it challenging to get mental health support when they need it, with long wait times. The rate of self-harm in young people aged 10-24 in Somerset is 60% higher than the rest of England.
Talk to us about the Somerset Youth Fund
If you’d like to know more about The Somerset Youth Fund and how you, your company or charitable trust could support the Fund, get in touch. We’d be delighted to tell you more.
Local challenges need local funding and local solutions. your gift will help us expand the support available for our local young people.
We want LGBTQ+ young people to feel it’s OK to be you in Somerset. LGBTQ+ people need acceptance, support, and a sense of belonging. Funding from SCF helped us reach more young people through learning to work online – especially in areas where travel can be difficult. Creating a sense of community and belonging is essential for positive wellbeing. The perfect future for 2BU would be where we’re not needed, but there will always be young people who can benefit from a support service like ours.
Lisa
CEO of 2BU