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£15m funding confirmed for innovative community and charity projects

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Mark McDonald
Mark McDonald

Projects to support children and families coping with disabilities, mental health problems and the challenges associated with poverty and charities working more widely with children, families and adult learners are among dozens of beneficiaries of grants worth a total of £15 million confirmed today by the Scottish Government.

The funding, from the 2017/18 Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund will support the core work of 117 charities, including Action for Children, Dyslexia Scotland, Enable, NSPCC and Relationships Scotland.

It will also support 30 new innovative projects designed to improve the lives of young people and families, including:

  • Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Scotland’s Best Start project awarded £84,591 to transform the lives of blind and partially sighted children under five years old by helping parents interact with their child and gain access to the right support.

  • Outside the Box Development Support’s Peer Support for Parents project, awarded £48,140 to increase awareness of the needs of families where a parent has poor mental health and increase their resilience.

  • Learning Link Scotland’s Home School Links project, awarded £40,000 to pilot adult and family learning opportunities in areas with multiple deprivation.

    • Minister for childcare and early years, Mark McDonald, said: “The third sector has a vital role in helping us to make life better for our children, young people and families, particularly those from disadvantaged areas or coping with significant health challenges. Right across Scotland, bodies such as NSPCC, Children 1st, the RNIB and others are doing some fantastic and life-changing work to support them.

    “The £15m funding for 2017/18 I am delighted to announce today will support the core activities of 117 Scottish third-sector organisations as they continue to work tirelessly to help those in most need. It will also allow 30 innovative and potentially life-changing projects to help a variety of people overcome their problems and reach their full potential.”

    Final decisions on funding were made by a Board which included third sector representation.

    Chair and former national head in Scotland of Children in Need, Fraser Falconer, said: “It was very encouraging to be able to see funding going to voluntary sector organisations that are making a big difference for children and young people in Scotland. It was also good to learn about and understand the extra support that the government is now making available to help many organisations with their monitoring and reports.”

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