Lay Claim To £5,000 Give Me Five Award
By admin
Issued on behalf of the Principality Building Society
A PROJECT designed to encourage the integration of children from different ethnic backgrounds in South Wales to play and socialise together is looking for financial help from a special community treasure chest.
The Cardiff-based MENFA (Mentoring For All) charity launched their summer playscheme project more than 20 years ago to enable hundreds of youngsters from a variety of ethnic groups to learn more about each other’s customs and cultures.
Run from the charity’s base in Maria Street, Butetown, the playscheme is just one of a host of MENFA initiatives aimed at advancing the education of children, young people and adults through advice, counselling and mentoring.
The group is one of the latest organisations to apply for the £5,000 South Wales Echo-Principality Give Me Five award being offered to community groups and charities this summer.
Project administrator Joan Simon said: “Children tend to stick to their own ethnic community groups when it comes to playing and socialising. Our aim is to help integrate them so they mix and get to learn about and understand the different cultures that are an everyday part of our communities.
“We have children from a number of different ethnic backgrounds – Somalis, West Indian, Africa, Pakistani, Indian and, of course, Welsh, and we are looking for the Give Me Five award to help us continue the work of the charity which encourages this integration and supports the children’s educational progress.”
The MENFA charity also runs a Saturday School for children aged five to 16, which has become so popular that the group is having to arrange overflow facilities to cope with demand from September.
“Not only do we help the children academically with their school work, we also help their parents with a number of positive parenting programmes including the teaching of English for adults who speak other languages,” added Joan.
“We have also just completed a Mentoring a Mentor Training Course and have been carrying out work with Coleg Glan Hafren on mentoring students with problems.”
Designed to help community organisations and charities make a real difference to the communities they serve, the Give Me Five campaign aims to give groups the chance to kick-start, complete or continue the good work of a worthwhile project close to the needs of its community.
The £5,000 award for the region covered by the Echo is one of five similar awards being given away this summer across Wales and the Borders by Principality Building Society to mark Principality’s achievement in reaching the significant milestone of £5 billion in assets.
Principality chief executive Peter Griffiths said: “We have been delighted with the number and quality of the applications received for the Give Me Five award from community groups and charities across the South Wales Echo area. But there is still time for other groups to make their claim on the money and we would encourage as many as possible to do so.
“The South Wales Echo-Principality Give Me Five £5,000 award will be given to a clearly-defined project which is making – or will make – a difference to the people within its community. It needs to be full of life, close to the community it serves, meets a defined need and is innovative.”
If you are involved in a project – or you benefit from or just know of one – that could do with a £5,000 injection of support to make a big difference to your community, then apply today for the South Wales Echo-Principality Give Me Five award.
Nominations can be made by filling in the form alongside and we’ll send you an application form; or you can download a form from the Principality website at www.principality.co.uk/givemefive; call Give Me Five awards co-ordinator Pat Ashman on Cardiff 029 2077 3318; or pick up an application form at any Principality Building Society branch. The closing date for applications is September 14, 2007.
