Co-op Community Fund donates over £10,000 for Ferndown

The John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation (JTYAF) has been awarded over £5,000 from the Co-op Local Community Fund. Ferndown Gateway Club received a similar amount so the local community of Ferndown will benefit by over £10,000.

Co-op members have raised over £9 million nationally for 4,000 local causes. One per cent of what they spend on own-brand products and services goes to the fund and this money, along with the money raised from carrier bag sales, is used to support local projects that benefit the community close to where the members live.

Pete Thornton, chairman of the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation, commented, “We are totally overwhelmed by the £5,263 that we received from the Co-op Local Community Fund and extremely privileged to be one of the first good causes to be selected for this fantastic support. This funding will be used to directly support local young people by helping us continue to provide a minibus for Ferndown schoolchildren and local youth groups. The minibus serves seven schools and several youth organisations, providing opportunities for children to access activities that will enhance their learning and allow them to benefit from out-of-school activities and sports. We would like to pass on our thanks to the Co-op and all their members for helping to make such a difference to the local community.”

The JTYAF supports young people from a number of youth organisations, providing them with scholarships and bursaries which give them access to opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have had. Recipients of the awards are selected for their commitment to their chosen activity and also their demonstration of the Foundation’s key values: courage, determination, unselfishness and cheerfulness in adversity.

The JTYAF has now made awards of £485,000 to more than 1,250 young people. The Trustees are all volunteers. The JTYAF has no paid staff and no premises and by keeping running costs to a minimum ensures that the maximum amount of funds raised are directly invested in young people.