This year News Corp UK is directing efforts towards providing opportunities for young people to build skills and confidence, with a focus on delivering results in the area of literacy, employability and social mobility, says the company.
Donations of £25,000 have been given to the Young Women's Trust helping young women on low or no pay get into work, and OnSide - building a network of 21st Century youth zones to provide young people with quality, safe, affordable spaces and activities.
The money will mean the Young Women’s Trust can boost the chances of 100 deprived young women through employment and confidence coaching sessions and advice on their CV to get them into work.
OnSide will invest the contribution in its national network of Youth Zones, giving young people aged 8–19 years old somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to in their leisure time in deprived areas. Often the only alternative for many of these youngsters is spending their evenings on the streets or isolated in their bedrooms, surfing the internet.
Meanwhile Scottish based children’s charity Jeely Piece Club, disability charity Team Domenica, children’s charity Farms for City Children, East London-based Eastside Young Leaders Academy and Northern writing charity New Writing North will each receive £10,000.
Each charity has been allocated two News Corp UK reps to help progress their cause and give them access to News Corp UK resources and expertise along the way.
News UK Director of Corporate Affairs, Daisy Dunlop said: “As a business we regularly champion great causes, inspire our readers to donate to charity and campaign for meaningful change. In this year’s News Corp Giving programme we want to get behind our fantastic charity partners and utilise all our resources to drive maximum benefit to our partners.”
Young Women’s Trust Chair Jo-ann Robertson said: “We are over the moon to have been awarded this donation from News Corp UK to grow our service and support more disadvantaged young women into work.
“Young Women’s Trust is helping young women take their next steps by providing free employability coaching to identify their skills and boost their confidence, professional feedback on their CVs, and grants to give them the tools, transport and technology to find work.
“We’re getting great feedback from the young women using our services and we hope to reach many more women through this exciting partnership.”
OnSide Youth Zones CEO, Kathryn Morley said: “We are delighted to be part of a new partnership with News Corp and very excited by the wonderful aspiration raising opportunities young people will get from this. News Corp’s fantastic contribution will help change the lives of young people right across the growing network of OnSide Youth Zones. Partners like News Corp are so important because they enable the network to thrive, ensuring that more and more young people across England have somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to.”
Anna Disley Executive Director, Programme and Impact New Writing North said: “We are so grateful for this funding which will enable disadvantaged young people in Newcastle to discover creative writing and to create pathways which support them to develop their own creativity over the long-term. We are also excited to be working with HarperCollins to identify ways in which older young people from the North East can be supported to pursue a career in publishing.”
Tracey Black Director of Services at Jeely Piece Club said: "We at the Jeely Piece Club are delighted with this fantastic donation from News Corp. The donation will be used to provide exciting and fun events for our children and their families to enjoy. We would like to take this opportunity to say a big ‘Thank You’ and we look forward to working with the News Corp team over the coming year."
Tracy Izod, Trusts Fundraiser at Farms for City Children, said: “Farms for City Children are absolutely delighted to have been chosen as one of News Corp’s charities and are very much looking forward to working with you over the next year. The generous support given will enable 34 children from disadvantaged communities to come and stay for a week on one of our working farms.”
When asked about what makes the charity, that he and his wife Clare set up in 1976, so special Michael Morpurgo said: “The impact of a week on the farm for these children is still as life-changing as it was back then. This year over 3,000 children will benefit from a week in the countryside working with our farm animals, learning where their food really comes from and enjoying a week of Muck and Magic!”
