An Oldham social enterprise is celebrating its third year of supporting young people experiencing poverty thanks to a £90,000 grant from BBC Children in Need.
Upturn achieved a successful bid to provide a programme designed to help young
people in Oldham to gain employment, enhance life skills to reduce social isolation and receive advice on issues including money management, housing issues and relationships.
The grant of £90,000 over three years, has enabled Upturn to create a team of young community champions – including a life coach and talent coach – who deliver a programme of activities to change young people’s lives for the better.
Of the 51 young people who engaged with the BBC Children in Need funded programme, Upturn saw all 51 participants secure employment or enter further education.
Positive push
Maria Williams, co-founder and HRM director of Upturn, said: “Out of the 51 young
people who engaged with the programme, more than three quarters of them told us
they felt isolated, lonely, and lacked support infrastructures, particularly following
Covid, when everything shut down.
“This is why we at Upturn are here – we want to support these young people and
make a tangible, positive impact on their lives. To see almost all the young people
either secure employment or enter further education as a result of this programme is
just amazing, and we can’t thank BBC Children in Need enough for the additional
support.
“We are passionate about understanding our community and being able to support people who are faced with the toughest challenges. We have a solid proven track record of really making an impact in the Oldham community and have established effective methods of engagement and outreach to really understand the challenges faced, and then put support in place to combat these issues.”
Results
As a result of the BBC Children in Need grant, Upturn has achieved the following
results:
51 young people engaged with the programme
51 young people have secured employment or entered further education
7 young people entered Apprenticeships
26 young people secured permanent employment
25 young people entered Further Education at various levels
51 young people have an increased level of confidence or self-esteem
Emily Swords, BBC Children in Need’s head of North, said: “It’s always a real privilege to award grants to organisations like Upturn Enterprise, who deliver employability support in Oldham. It demonstrates how our grants programme makes a positive difference to children and young people’s lives.”
