Help Yourselves

Children and young people living in poverty are extremely vulnerable, missing out on the basics they need — like decent food, a warm bedroom, or the chance to go on a school trip. It also affects their chances of doing well in the future.

We have created an opportunity for children and young people living in England, Scotland and Wales that aims to have a positive impact on their lives and improve their life chances.

You tell us what would improve the lives of children and young people in your community. We will give Awards of £1,000, £5,000 and £10,000 during 2008. All projects must focus on improving children and young people's life chances in areas such as education, employment and self-confidence. For the £5,000 and £10,000 Awards, we will work in partnership with you to develop models of lasting change for children and young people living in severe poverty.

The Help Yourselves Awards will fund projects that have a positive impact on the circumstances and experiences of children and young people:

• through the improvement of life chances
• that are strongly young-person led
• that benefit vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, and for higher-level Awards — those living in communities experiencing severe poverty.

Please read our guidance notes and conditions of funding carefully before you apply.

What is severe poverty?

1.3 million children live in severe poverty in the UK, the fourth richest country in the world, according to the report Severe Child Poverty in the UK, published in 2007 by Save the Children. For a couple with a child, that means living on an average of £7,000 a year, or less than £134 a week.

Far too many children live in severe poverty right on our doorstep. Too many children live in families where there is a constant struggle to make ends meet. Families face tough choices between many of the basics such as adequate health, food, sufficient clothing and heating the home. Children live in homes which are overcrowded with little room for personal space or study and neighbourhoods often seem unsafe with few places to play. Many families with children at school lack even the ability to afford the right uniform, books and equipment or the cost of school trips.

Key terms with regard to severe poverty

Life chances refer to the circumstances in which a child grows up and how his/her childhood experiences affect later outcomes in areas such as education, employment and self-esteem. Therefore, work to improve life chances will aim to have a positive impact on the existing circumstances and experiences of children in order to improve later outcomes.

Standard of Living: Article 27 of the UNCRC defines the term in relation to a child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. Typical measures of 'standard of living' refer to the levels of goods and services obtainable for a given income.

We've funded some amazing projects. Find out all about them below.

• Luna VJ Workshops

  

  Used their Help Yourselves Award to learn how to make our own videos, edit them and use them in a live VJ set. They performed together at events across the Gateshead area, to audiences of up to 300 people.

• Inspiration

  

  Be Totally You used a Help Yourselves Award to provide a drama and media training programme for young people which culimnated in an opportunity to showcase their talents in a performance at Deptford's Albany Theatre.

• Romany Youth Action Group

  

  This group used their Help Yourselves Award to run a series of health/sports/ arts-based activities that has brought together children and young people within the community. Young people, qualified as Sport's leaders, led the workshops.

• Virtual Interfaith Trail

  

  This group used a Help Yourselves Award to create a Virtual Interfaith Trail. It takes users through the different areas of a mosque, a church and a Hindu temple and explains the significance of different areas and objects. It also explains the routines of young people from each of these faiths.

• GYRO Film Project

  

  This group used their Help Yourselves Award to make a short film that encourages positive images of gay and lesbian young people.

• Lewisham Francophone Asylum/Refugee Centre (LFARC)

  

  Following a series of focus groups with young people the most popular request was for help with basic Maths and English and with their homework. So using a Help Yourselves Award they set up after-school activities and a Saturday School to do just that!

• Brookway Young People's Sports Project

  

  This group used a Help Yourselves Award to set up a Saturday evening sports project for young people from the area.

• Walking to Health

  

  The Hinge used a Help Yourselves Award to set up a Walking to Health Project.

• Disability - a young person's perspective

  

  This group used a Help Yourselves Award to give 20 young people the opportunity to make a film about what it's like to be a young disabled person from a minority ethnic community living in Glasgow, and the impact Ethnic Enable has had on their lives.

• Capoeira for Youth

  

  A group of students from our school attended some music and culture workshops arranged by Capoeira Art Brasil. The Help Yourselves Award has made it possible for Capoeira Art Brasil to come back and run a series of weekly workshops held at three different locations in the area. That way, we've been able to encourage not only our friends at our school to join in, but our friends at other schools too.

• Volunteens Plus

  

  With a Help Yourselves Award this group have worked together to design 'Volunteens' ? a volunteering scheme specifically created for looked after children. And as part of the scheme itself, they all passed an accredited and certificated first aid course.

• New Tredegar YSG

  

  This Youth Sub Group(YSG) used theHelp Yourselves Award to make a bright, colourful booklet. It includes information relating to health and well-being, substance misuse and sexual health, with details of where to go for advice or for more information.

• Thrifty Munch

  

  They used a Help Yourselves Award to run 'Thrifty Munch', an eight-week healthy lifestyle course for young people on low incomes living on their own or seeking independent living. The young people have had a lot of fun getting together to learn how to plan, prepare and cook healthy and nutritious food within a budget.

• The Help Yourselves Award ceremony

  

  Phase two of the Help Yourselves Awards programme drew to a close in December 2007. All the groups awarded a Help Yourselves grant in phase two were considered against the eight categories of Award criteria. Nine groups were chosen from the 187 grants awarded. These nine groups were brought together on the 15th January 2008 to celebrate their success at Westminster.

• Modern Mums' Magazine

  

  Following a successful ?1000 Award the Young Mums received a further ?3000 to produce a second edition of their magazine. This has been distrinuted to every youth club in the Caerphilly Borough

• AS4L n-rich programme

  

  They used a Help Yourselves Award to create a 15-week enrichment programme for young people at A4SL to help them gain the skills, qualifications and confidence they need to enter training, further education or employment.

• Who is a stranger?

  

  The Acorns Dreamscheme in Scunthorpe used their Award to take part in three workshops and then produce a community newsletter about staying safe.

• Chware Teg! (Fair Play Club!)

  

  With a Help Yourselves Award Chware Teg helped the Church Community Worker to organise a whole programme of activities and workshops in Welsh

• StereoHYPE

  

  Used a Help yourselves Award to set up the StereoHYPE Leadership Training Programme, and work towards breaking down the barriers between gangs through a unique and exciting series of workshops

• PRU about Town

  

  Kettleworth Pupil referral unit used their Help Yourselves award to help the students learn about the effect they have on the environment, about recycling and other positive impacts they can have, and about how they can encourage others to respect the environment

• Street Dance Moss Side

  

  This group used a Help Yourselves Award to run really successful street dance sessions during the summer holidays for local young people aged 8-14.

• Trident Housing Association

  

  Trident HA used the Help Yourselves Award to provide training for the young people to enable them to hold meetings as a Programme Advisory Group (PAG) about issues that affect them within their own community and also to get involved in decision-making regarding the service they receive

• Bluewatch Youth Centre

  

  This group used their Help Yourselves Award to consult over 400 children and young people in their area about local leisure facilities. They used their results to inform local policy makers.

• Film, Camera, Action

  

  A group of young people from Farringdon Jubilee Centre in Sunderland decided to use their help Yourselves Award to make a film to show what life is like for young people in Farringdon.

• Kinlochbervie Youth Caf?

  

  The North West Youth Initiative used the Help Yourselves Award to set up their very own Youth Caf?. They've been able to decorate the place and choose what goes in it ? and that means that they feel like it's THEIR place and not the adults just letting them into their space.

• SHARP

  

  Bolton Lads and Girls Club used the Help Yourselves Award to set up SHARP ? a peer education project on sexual health and relationships.

• Bullying in school training

  

  Young people from the Bosnian Cultural Centre used their Help Yourselves award to be trained to be peer educators about bullying issues.

• Rights, Respect and Responsibility

  

  Used a Help Yourselves award to hold an Awards ceremony for looked after and vulnerable young people.

• Creative Thinking

  

  Using a Help Yourselves award this group put together a series of eight two-hour creative sessions for young people with disabilities.

• Lark in the Park

  

  Lark in the Park is a huge community event. A mixed group of adults and young people planned the 2007 event. Over 265 young people enjoyed a variety of free activities over a two week period in the summer of 2007.

• Grange Kabaddi and Street Dance

  

  Used a Help Yourselves Award from Save the Children and British Gas to organise an inter-school Kabaddi Tournament to bring different schools from other communities together and give them a chance to learn a new sport and make new friends.

• It's a Doggy Life

  

  Used a Help Yourselves Award from Save the Children and British Gas to reseach what young people and other members of the community think about their area. With their findings, they made a book and held a launch event.

• Speak Out

  

  Used a Help Yourselves Award from Save the Children and British Gas to set up a youth forum and turn the ideas of young people in Westham into realities!

• Friends Against Bullying

  

  Used a Help Yourselves Award from Save the Children and British Gas to set up an anti-bullying website run by and for young people, providing information, advice and tips for young people who are being bullied and who are concerned about bullying.

• The Place2B

  

  With a Help Yourselves Award from Save the Children and British Gas, we set up a fantastic youth group and have somewhere we can meet every week and do all kinds of brilliant activities.

• Aberdeen Chinese Association

  

  Used a Help Yourselves Award to run a series of play and leisure activities to help young people from the Chinese community.

• Webwise

  

  With a Help Yourselves Award from Save the Children and British Gas we've set up our own website.

• DISC Young Carers

  

  Used a Help Yourselves Award to start a youth forum and run a series of group support events for young carers in Durham.

• Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

  

  Used a Help Yourselves Award to make a DVD that challenges the binge drinking culture in their area.

• Time Out Together

  

  Using a Help Yourselves Award from Save the Children and British Gas, we've set up three new youth groups on a media bus in three deprived areas of Yeovil.

• Castlemead Radiowaves

  

  Used a Help Yourselves Award from Save the Children and British Gas to help a group of 5-11-year-olds living on the Castlemead Estate to produce their very own radio show.

• Sonic Club

  

  Used a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas to organise art, drama and music workshops for a week during the summer holidays.

• Workshops for a Better Future

  

  Using our award we organised a series of workshops for disadvantaged refugees and asylum-seekers aged 10-16 living in Lambeth.

• Whale Arts My Home Project

  

  We used a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas to run a digital photography project. Young people from both communities have met up and visited each other's home area and created a portfolio of photos that show the similarities and differences between the two communities.

• Morecombe music video on homelessness

  

  We've made a music video homelessness. We wanted young people to have a broader understanding of homelessness in their community, why people become homeless, what their lives are like, and what other people may be able to do to help.

• Brunshaw Action Group

  

  We're the Brunshaw Action Group, set up in 2000 as an independent voluntary organisation by residents of Burnley in conjunction with Lancashire Constabulary. Our aim is to cut down juvenile nuisance and crime in the Brunshaw area by offering young people of all ages opportunities to develop their creative potential through high quality, dynamic and fun activities.

• Fairway Community Play Park

  

  We've used a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas to help provide a secure play area that can be used by disabled children, their families and friends in an area of social need in the town.

• Gullane Youth Group

  

  We're the North Berwick Youth Cafe, a youth project catering for over 100 young people aged 12-18 living in North Berwick, East Lothian. We wanted to develop a safe and stimulating youth facility in Gullane as part of the North Berwick Youth Cafe project, providing a drop-in and a range of activities. And with a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas, we have done so!

• Young Mums and Bumps Gardening Project

  

  We're Young Mums and Bumps, a group of mums aged 25 and under with young children living in Pinxton, in the Bolsover District of Nottingham. We're part of the South Normanton and Pinxton (SNAP) Development Project, who support and develop local voluntary and community groups.

• Owton Fens Active Citizen Engagement Scheme (ACES)

  

  We used a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas to offer a different kind of school holiday programme (known as ACES) for young people aged 12-18. Rather than being 'another play scheme', the programme provided young people with the opportunity to learn new skills whilst undertaking voluntary work within the local community.

• Four Squared

  

  Used an award to form a community theatre company tackling crime.

• Belsize Road Mural

  

  We used an award from Save the Children and British Gas to organise a series of consultations and workshops with young people to research and develop their ideas and designs and incorporate them into the mural in the local community.

• Kidz R Us

  

  In a very disadvantaged area of the country, a here to HELP Award gives children fun opportunities that they would otherwise never have.

• Easter Eggstravaganza

  

  Using a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas, we created a community production involving disadvantaged children and young people at every stage.

• Claycroft Mural Project

  

  Young people living in Dudley, wanted to paint a mural in the communal area of the flats where they live. This idea was inspired by the work carried out by a younger youth group who undertook a similar project last year. Using a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas, supported by Dudley Council's Housing Service, Neighbourhood Management and especially by Lye and Wollescote Partnership, they've done it!

• Dangers Young People Face

  

  We wanted to bring the young people in our community together, while at the same time educate and inform them about some of the dangerous issues young people face in their lives. Using a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas, we ran workshops on topics such as drugs, gang violence and sexual health.

• Stay Alive in the Live Zone

  

  Concerned about how often firefighters in West Lothian were held back by attacks on them a group of young people applied and won a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas, to write and produce a leaflet for young people. Telling the local community about some of the troubles faced by the fire service and includes tips and hints about keeping yourself safe from fire.

• Spennymoor Youth Centre Mosaic Project

  

  We wanted to work together to contribute something to our local community garden. (It's called Garden of Eden because it's on Eden Street!). We won a 'here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas to make a fantastic mosaic that covers one of the walls.

• Booze and Views

  

  Using a Here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas, this group held a series of Young People's Consultation Days to gather information on young people's views and attitudes, raise awareness of the consequences of alcohol abuse and plan a pilot project to address the problems.

• Extreme Heat Music Project

  

  Wanted to put their creative energy into more than just air hockey and table football each week! So using a Here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas, they've set up a band, written their own songs and put on a fantastic concert!

• Young achievers at Caer Castell

  

  Won a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas to buy new resources and regenerate the local Youth Club with a new group of young people working for their Duke of Edinburgh's and Young Achiever Awards.

• Involve Me

  

  Children said they wanted to be involved in the appointment of playworkers at out-of-school childcare clubs. Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids Clubs West Wales aplpied for an award to develop a 45-minute training course on simple interview techniques aimed at children aged 7-11 years old to enable them to do this. Tthis course was piloted in Carmarthenshire.

• Creative Moves

  

  Won a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas, to create a young people?s showcase event of music, art and dance. They wanted to bring together the African, Asian and European groups in their community and celebrate the positives and similarities in cultures.

• All about Youth

  

  Won a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas to set up a Transition Group. As part of this project, the group have put together the information we've gained as a new booklet that will be used as part of Enlighten's core information provision to other young people of this age with epilepsy.

• Clebryn Environmental Club

  

  Won a here to HELP Award from Save the Children and British Gas to set up a junior weekend club to encourage children to be more aware of the damage humans do to the environment and to learn how they can respect and protect it.

• RAY Ceredigion 'Play Ffowrm Chwarae'

  

  RAY Ceredigion - an out-of-school childcare network that supports over 20 clubs in the county of Ceredigion used a here to HELP Award to host a five day workshop on the west coast of Wales last summer.

• Mongrel UK

  

  Young refugees make a film to celebrate their different cultures

• New Beats

  

  Young people learn new drumming skills in Wokingham

• Hit the Decks

  

  Hit the decks enables young people from rural areas in Aberdeenshire to get involved in new activities and learn new skills

• Young Diamonds

  

  Young people make a series of short radio programmes about Midlothian Gala Days

• Healthy play through circus skills

  

  Year 10 students in London organise healthy play after school clubs

• 2 B Continued

  

  Young people in Cardiff investigate how to improve their community

• Unleash

  

  "Unleash" inspires young people to be creative through arts and technology workshops

• Young Mums' Magazine

  

  Young Mums in Caerphilly produce a magazine on teenage pregnancy and sexual health issues

• Millenium Volunteers

  

  Young people in Canterbury create a new set of playground markers for their school

• Urban Nights

  

  'Oxygen' looks at the lack of facilities for young people in South West London and what young people want to do about it

• SHIFT

  

  Young people in the SHIFT project put together leaflets for other young people on sexual health

• Harmonize

  

  'Harmonize' aims to bring community members back together

• Time 4 U Club

  

  Young people in Lewes 'Get Together' to find new ideas of what activities their age group can get involved in during the summer holidays

• Street Smart, Street Safe

  

  Learn how to get street safety messages across to other young people in your community

• Scene Around Torfaen

  

  Scene around Torfaen learns where young people feel safe in their community

• Clwb Garddio - Gardening Club

  

  Read more about how Clwb Garddio - a gardening club in Rhondda Cynon Taf - brought together different members of the community

• Reinwood African Drumming Group

  

  The Reinwood Infant and Nursery School create an African Drumming Group

• Rock the Talk

  

  Rock the Talk deliver key health promotion information through youth rock bands

• Amington Peeps Football Competition

  

  A community football project to help reduce anti-social behaviour

• Bullying, Alcohol, Drugs ... U

  

  Caer Drewyn School share information on issues around bullying and substance misuse

• Momentum Youth Dance Day

  

  The Momentum Youth Dance Company is led by adult volunteers and is made up of young people age 12-19 from the Wakefield area.

• Bolton Girls

  

  Bolton Lads and Girls Club was established in 1889 to help disadvantaged young people to reach their potential and succeed in life.

• Amara-Chi

  

  Amara-Chi is part of the Youth Impact Project, which works primarily with black young people in the inner-city area of Derby.

• Hillhead Children's Garden Recipe Map

  

  The Childrens Garden in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens was started in 2003, when a group of parents formed a voluntary organisation to provide local children with a place to grow food plants and to harvest them.

• Circle of Youth

  

  We are a group of young roving reporters from Tairgwaith aged between 11 and 14

• The Box Youth Project

  

  We're the Box Youth Project in Sunderland, who have turned a disused community building into a brilliant chill-out area where young people can meet up with friends

• Jigsaw Workshops

  

  The Jigsaw Project works with girls under the age of 18 in Walsall who are at risk of, or involved in, sexual exploitation and prostitution.

• See-yah Safe

  

  Young people carry out their own research and develop their ways to keep safe on the streets.

• Aim High Basketball Project

  

  Youth For Hackney was established in 2003 in response to the high level of youth related crime in the area

• Benthal Buddies

  

  Playground buddies at Benthal Junior School, Hackney.

• Penarth Environmental Project

  

  Information for young people on a range of issues in a safe and comfortable environment

• ERAZE

  

  Dragon Bands' music magazine for young people in South Wales

• Herefordshire Young Carers

  

  Young carers in Herefordshire decide how adults should support them.

• Young and Proud

  

  Derbyshire gets media savvy with a newletter exclusively for young people.

• Team Biscuit

  

  Children in Glasgow break down community barriers and get to know each other.

• Sundance After School Club

  

  A new film explores young people's experiences of life in Hove.

• Live i'Ness

  

  Read about a group in Inverness who have organised gigs for other young people

• Rural Young Voices

  

  A committee of young villagers from County Durham change their environment.

• St Helens Children's Strategic Partnership

  

  Young people tell adults how to work better with children in St Helens.

• Sex and Drugs and What You Know

  

  Young People from Wales learn the hard facts about sex and drugs.

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