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An £18,132 grant from the Ron and Louise Bowey Fund at Community Foundation North East is helping Projects4Change invest in the next generation of youth workers and create more opportunities for young people in Cowgate.
The funding has supported three young women – Zoe, Pao and Jannah – to gain youth work qualifications and training, enabling them to develop their skills while giving back to the community they call home.
All three live within a mile of Betty’s Hut and Community Garden, where Projects4Change delivers youth-led activities at the heart of Cowgate. The organisation provides a safe and welcoming space for local young people, with a particular focus on addressing the needs and amplifying the voices of those who are under-represented or disadvantaged.
The grant builds on the remarkable legacy of Betty Playford, Projects4Change’s patron and an exceptional community leader in Cowgate, who died aged 90. Betty dedicated herself to standing up for her community and her influence continues through the young people she championed.
Su Legg, Senior Philanthropy Advisor at Community Foundation North East, said:
“This grant is a wonderful example of how philanthropy can invest not only in the opportunities available to young people today, but in the people who will support and inspire them for years to come.
Zoe, Pao and Jannah already understand their community and the challenges young people can face because they are part of that community themselves. Supporting them to gain qualifications and develop as youth workers means Projects4Change can build on that local knowledge and create trusted relationships with young people who might otherwise miss out.
Betty Playford showed the difference one determined community champion can make. It is incredibly fitting that her legacy is continuing through a new generation of young women who are creating opportunities, championing young people’s voices and helping them see what is possible.”
Kelly Coates, Chief Executive Officer of Projects4Change, said:
“In communities like Cowgate, sometimes we can be forgotten and every community needs a Betty, somebody to stand up for local people and fight their cause.”
Through their training, Zoe, Pao and Jannah are now following in Betty’s footsteps. Collectively, they have supported more than 450 young people aged 11 to 25 to access opportunities, guidance and support, including experiences such as sailing and residential trips.
For Pao, who works across Projects for Change and Unfolding Theatre’s youth theatre programme, becoming a youth worker is an opportunity to give back after experiencing first-hand the difference that encouragement and support can make.
Pao said:
“I want to do everything for my community, give back to my community, because I know that when I was younger, with Kelly and how much I volunteered… the support that she gave me and how she encouraged me and uplifted my spirits really led me to where I am now.”
The Ron and Louise Bowey Fund at Community Foundation North East supports community projects across Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. By investing in Zoe, Pao and Jannah’s development, Projects4Change is supported to build skills and capacity within Cowgate itself, while ensuring hundreds more young people can benefit from trusted guidance, positive relationships and new experiences.
As part of the grant, Projects4Change has also produced a series of films, made by Gareth Matthews, to showcase the importance of youth work to a wider audience. The first short documentary, ‘Betty’s Legacy – In Her Footsteps’, explores Betty’s lasting influence, the work taking place in Cowgate and why continued investment in young people matters.
Watch ‘Betty’s Legacy – In Her Footsteps’ here
We’ll be sharing the inspirational individual stories of Zoe, Jannah and Pao, and their journeys into youth work, in a later edition of eNews.