Co Meath VEC to award €60k-plus funding to 82 youth groups
COUNTY Meath VEC is to award over €60,000 in funding to 82 youth groups across the county through this year's Local Youth Club Grant Scheme.
The Local Youth Club Grant Scheme is funded by the Department of Education and Science from the proceeds of the National Lottery and the National Development Plan.
This is Meath's largest allocation to date, and represents an increase of €17,000 on last year's figure.
Meath's allocation is calculated on the basis of the number of young people aged between 10 and 24 in the county as per Census figures in 2006. In Meath, this figure increased by six per cent since 2002, which was the highest population increase nationally.
The Local Youth Club Grant Scheme was open to all organisations in Co Meath that have youth work as their primary focus. However, priority was given to those who are directly involved in the provision of services to disadvantaged and marginalised sections of the youth population, and to those between the age of 10 and 24. Priority was also given to unaffiliated youth clubs and groups.
Last year, 52 clubs applied for funding, and this year an additional 30 clubs applied, including 26 new clubs that never applied for funding previously.
Youth officer Elma McMahon set up regional meetings for each area to explain the grant scheme and to advise groups and these meetings also provided a forum for discussions on development, training, issues and problems affecting each area.
The new East Meath area has seen four new groups formed in the past year. Meath VEC is also pleased to see the opening of Laytown/Bettystown Youthreach in Dun Mara, Bettystown Square (the Youthreach Coordinator is Vivienne Brannigan who can be contacted on 087-9143862).
The 82 clubs which applied for funding this year have 5,200 members under the age of 25 and over 800 volunteers.
"This is a significant number of young people involved in clubs, especially when you consider that this does not include sporting clubs or school-related clubs.
"All of these clubs take place in a volunteer capacity outside of school/work hours," said Ms McMahon.
The youth grants will be presented at a special night in the Solstice Arts Centre on the 6th December 2007 at 8pm and special guest on the night will be Trevor Giles who won an All-Ireland minor medal with Meath in 1992, two All-Ireland senior medals, three Leinster senior medals and one national league medal.
Trevor has also won three All Star awards and was chosen as the Texaco Footballer of the Year and All Stars Footballer of the Year in 1999. Groups will also perform on the night including Meath Arch Club, Navan Silver Band, Macra Na Feirme and Meath Youth Musical Society.
Contact Elma McMahon, youth officer, County Meath VEC on (046) 9068225 or elma.mcmahon@meathvec.ie for more details.