Patrician Youth Centre Gets £10,000 From Coca Cola
The 11 non-profit organisations from Northern Ireland receiving a grant share from this year’s Coca-Cola Thank You Fund have been announced.
Among this year’s grant recipients of the Coca Cola Thank You Fund, Downpatrick’s Patrician Youth Centre is to receive £10,000.
Other non-profit, Down-based organisations receiving an uplift from the Thank You Fund include Laurencetown Lenaderg & Tullylish Community Association, and the Magnet Young Adult Centre, receiving £10,000 and The Crisis Café receiving at least €5,000 in funding.
A total of £200,000 was provided by Coca Cola Ltd to the Thank You Fund doubling its contribution in its 13th year for the whole of Ireland.
Overall, over 420 young people across Northern Ireland will benefit from the fund provided by Coca Cola.
Projects awarded helped to develop and empower young people through learning, inclusion, and sustainable development as Coca Cola Ltd says ‘thank you’.
- To find out more, go to: www.coca-cola.ie/thankyou
28 non-profit organisations from across Ireland and Northern Ireland are today celebrating the news that they will each receive a grant share from this year’s Coca-Cola Thank You Fund.
The Patrician Youth Centre is a full-time, voluntary organisation located in County town of Downpatrick, an area of designated social need.
The Centre is mandated to provide services and programmes which promote the personal, social, educational, and recreational development of young people without distinction.
Yvonne Maquire, Senior Youth Worker said: “This is the second time we have been successfull in receiving an award from Coca Cola.
“We are very grateful that we can continue with the pilot work we have been doing on developing volunteers in the organisation and within the wider community.
“We aim to develop young people from 15+ as leaders and volunteers so they can fulfil themselves.
“This in-house programme will work with the young volunteers whether they are in work or in further education. It will help them meet their aspirations in life.
“Around that age there is a lot choices in life available to them and this programme helps them to narrow down what they want to do and move towards it.
“We have moved out of Covid but there is a lot of work to do with our younger generation. This funding award will therefore help us to keep on track with this programme for our young people to maximise their potential.”
Other centres in County Down receiving funding:
- Laurencetown Lenaderg & Tullylish Community Association (LLTCA) own and manage a small, active, and welcoming Community Centre to resource, facilitate, and provide an affordable meeting space for over 20 different weekly groups.
- Magnet Young Adult Centre caters for young people aged 15+ from Newry and the surrounding areas, providing a variety of personal development programmes as well as a drop in facility. The Centre is unique in that it is managed entirely by young people.
- The aim of the Crisis Cafe in Newry is to provide a non-clinical ‘youth-led’ safe space where young people can access a range of services to improve their mental health and life chances. The Crisis Cafe offers a variety of drop-in and non-referral-based services where young people can access a variety of support depending of their individual circumstances.
Delivered in partnership with the Irish Youth Foundation and supporting partners YouthAction Northern Ireland, the Fund invests in community groups that support young people.
This year’s focus centred on empowering young people through learning, inclusion, and sustainable development.
The significant increase in funding means that the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund can support even more local organisations across the island of Ireland that work tirelessly to champion and empower young people to take an active role in shaping, creating, and maintaining sustainable communities.
In total, 4 recipient organisations from Northern Ireland were selected to receive a grant of up to €10,000 to develop and implement their youth programme.
And an additional 7 organisations from Northern Ireland will receive at least €5,000 in funding to support their local project and improve their community.
These groups include Manor Street/Cliftonville Community Group (Belfast), Destined Ltd (Derry-Londonderry), The Magnet Youth Adult Centre (Down), The Rainbow Child and Family Centre (Derry-Londonderry), St. Patrick’s Youth Club Keady (Armagh), Active Communities Network (Antrim), and Crisis Café (Newry).
Congratulating the recipients of this year’s Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, Tom Burke, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland said: “We are focused on empowering young people through learning, inclusion, and sustainable development.
“It will be achieved with the support of this year’s Coca-Cola Thank You Fund, together with our partners at The Coca-Cola Company.
“We’re delighted to be able to recognise the work of eleven organisations across Northern Ireland which are helping young people realise their potential and contribute positively to their communities.
“With a legacy in Northern Ireland going back over 80 years, we believe in empowering the next generation of young people, and we look forward to seeing the great work that will be done by the eleven projects selected for this year’s Fund.”
Speaking about the judging process, Sheila Morris, Membership Development and Growth Team Leader of YouthAction Northern Ireland, said: “This year, we were delighted to once again work on the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund.
“It is alongside the Irish Youth Foundation and a panel of industry experts, to identify community-based programmes and projects that engaged young people in models of innovative and inclusive practices.
“Working with Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland and The Coca-Cola Company has allowed us to invest in and support eleven valuable local projects for young people across Northern Ireland.
“The standard of applications across the three pillars of learning, inclusion, and sustainable development has been incredibly high.
“Although it was a challenging process, it was a really enlightening and rewarding experience to hear from the substantial number of community groups available to support vulnerable young people.”
For more information about the Coca-Cola Thank You Fund check out:
