Local young people will benefit from funding of £85,000 this year thanks to funding from the Ferndown-based John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation.

In 2023 awards totalling £84,000 were made with 170 young people benefitting and 19 projects for local youth groups and schools being supported. Awards ranged from £75 to cover Duke of Edinburgh’s Award fees, to £6,000 for West Moors Middle School towards the cost of an outdoor amphitheatre.

The charity was set up in 2008 in memory of Lt John Thornton RM who was tragically killed in Afghanistan while serving with 40 Commando Royal Marines.  The aim of the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation is to encourage and assist young people to ‘climb as high as they can dream’. Whatever their dream, they hope to help them achieve it.

At their recent meeting the trustees selected 18 youth organisations for support in 2024 which included Ferndown Upper School, Ferndown First and Middle Schools, Beaucroft Foundation School, the Guides and Scouts and the Bournemouth Sea Cadets and Royal Marine Cadets. Funding was also set aside for young people who are not members of any of the JTYAF supported organisations, increasing the reach and diversity of the Foundation within the community. Check out ‘Our Work’ on the JTYAF website for a full list of supported organisations.

For more information about the work of the JTYAF please visit www.jtyaf.org.