Eleven projects designed to improve social mobility in deprived areas across the north of England have been awarded funds totalling £100,000 by rail operator Northern.
The train operator’s Customer & Community Improvement Fund opened for applications in May with schemes that focussed on early careers, education outreach and inclusive employment encouraged to apply.
Major grants of £20,000 were awarded to Pudsey-based Building Futures Together and to Scope for their ‘Youth Community Collective’ scheme in Leeds.
Building Futures Together will use the funds to deliver a vocational work experience programme for people interested in a career as a plumber or an electrician, while Scope’s work will focus on helping disabled young people improve their skills and confidence.
Grants of £10,000 were given to:
- Olympias Music Foundation for its ‘Learn to Play’ initiative, which provides free music lessons for children aged 6-18 from low-income backgrounds in Longsight
- The Look Ahead project in Wakefield, which supports 16-year-olds to gain qualifications in beauty and nail services
- The Work For All scheme, which supports older people that have been out of work to regain confidence, presentation and interview skills across Derbyshire and Tameside
- Neurodiverse Community Catterick for their ‘Pride in Youth Ability’ project, which will promote independence and confidence for young neurodivergent people
- High Peak Community Arts for their ‘Social Mobility Through The Arts’ project to deliver training, volunteering and leadership experience for people in Gamesley (Glossop) and Fairfield (Buxton).
Grants of £2,500 have been given to Improving Lives, a scheme that provides training in employability skills such as customer service, retail, time management and communication; Keeping Digital Foundation in York, which helps young people develop the vital skills required to support careers in STEM fields; NMC Design+Print in Winsford, who will provide vocational training in graphic design for young people with muscular dystrophy; and Special Needs Under Fives in Bolton, which supports special needs children in an early years settings.
Northern MD Tricia Williams said: “Helping to improve social mobility across our network is something we see as really important.
“Transport connectivity is itself a vital element of the wider support structure – but the organisations we’ve awarded grants to as part of this year’s Customer & Community Improvement Fund are specialists with direct, hands-on experience.
“With our support, these groups can make a huge difference to people’s lives and we look forward to hearing the many success stories that will follow.”
