WARRINGTON Youth Club has been crowned “Charity Champs” in recognition for its efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a nationwide appreciation campaign by the National Emergencies Trust (NET).
The Charity Champs campaign, which is being backed by a host of celebrities and companies on social media this week, is celebrating the efforts of frontline charities and groups, like Warrington Youth Club, that have worked tirelessly to support their communities for nearly a year now.
A video to launch the campaign features HRH The Duke of Cambridge, who is Royal Patron of the National Emergencies Trust, as well as Alesha Dixon, Pixie Lott and many others who’ve lent their support to its Coronavirus Appeal over the last year. While Fearne Cotton, Stephen Fry and many others have been posting messages of support on social media across the week.
Warrington Youth Club runs a range of programmes to support young people’s development and encourage them to make positive and healthy life choices. They have been using funding from the NET’s Coronavirus Appeal, which launched in March last year, to run online activities for children, deliver essential care packages to local families, offer childcare to the children of Warrington Hospital workers and launch a wellbeing support programme.
As part of the Charity Champs campaign, Lisa Culverhouse, Business Administration Manager of Warrington Youth Club, took part in a video chat with Yvonne Braun, Director of Policy at the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and representative of the COVID-19 Support Fund (see above). The Fund was created by the long-term savings and insurance industry and donated £20 million to the NET Coronavirus Appeal last year.
In the video, Ms Culverhouse explains how running an online youth club has enabled them to support children with additional needs during lockdowns, and how they have built educational elements into their activities so that children out of school don’t fall behind. She also describes the way they’ve been able to support local families with care packages as “amazing”.
Yvonne Braun, Executive Lead at the ABI for the Covid-19 Support Fund said: “We were delighted to make a donation to the National Emergencies Trust from the Covid-19 Support Fund last year. It’s been truly humbling to hear first-hand from Lisa the difference that the donation has made. What Warrington Youth Club, and so many other local charities and groups have been doing for their communities throughout the pandemic, is nothing short of remarkable.”
Warrington Youth Club is one of more than 169 projects to receive a grant from the NET Coronavirus Appeal through Cheshire Community Foundation. To-date the National Emergencies Trust’s appeal has raised £97million and more than £94million of this has reached communities across the four nations.
Mhairi Sharp, CEO of the National Emergencies Trust, said: “For nearly a year now people in charities all around the UK have put others’ needs before their own to help those hard-hit by the pandemic. The creativity and compassion they’ve shown in the face of such difficult times is truly inspirational. We wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and thank charity champs like Warrington Youth Club and we’re so pleased that the ABI and a host of well-known faces are joining us.”
To discover more about Warrington Youth Club and other Charity Champs visit: https://nationalemergenciestrust.org.uk/charity-champs/
