Foundation youngsters celebrate Big Lottery success

Teenagers taking part in youth programmes run by SAFC charity Foundation of Light took part in an intergenerational party held recently to celebrate Delves Lane Village Hall being awarded £8,638 from the Big Lottery Fund. The funding will be used to refurbish the kitchen and install new flooring in the kitchen and toilets, which will benefit the hall’s users and encourage more local people to use the centre. Foundation of Light, the registered charity of Sunderland AFC, use the hall for youth activities and helped support the event. James Harcourt, England Grant Making Director at the Big Lottery Fund said: “We are proud to give National Lottery money to local projects that make a difference in their communities. Thanks to National Lottery players, Delves Lane Community Association will be able to bring the community together in much improved facilities.” The hall is managed by Delves Lane Community Association, a small charity that is working in conjunction with Durham Community Action (DCA) to increase the usage of the hall and make it more sustainable for future generations. The community association runs a very successful lunch club from the centre, which attracts over 40 regular attendees and aims to tackle the social isolation people may encounter due to the loss of services and public transport links in the local area. Young people from the Foundation of Light Youth Club were consulted on how to increase the hall’s usage and proposed the Halloween party to bring together the different generations.

The event gave our young people an opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned in the Wider Key Skills sessions and also went some way to bridging the community barrier between the older and younger users of the centre. Younger members of the group also gained valuable experience of volunteering and organisational strategies than can be utilised as transferrable skills for job and college applications.

Craig Martin, Foundation of Light Delivery Coordinator

The committee are asking for the support of the local community to use the centre frequently to help it become more vibrant and self -sustaining. The centre can be hired for private and social events at reasonable rates and local people are encouraged to hold fundraising events for the hall or volunteer some time to support the committee and meet new people. You can find out what’s happening at the hall on the Delves Lane Village Hall Facebook page. DCA has received funding from local councillors to deliver a community development project in Delves Lane Village Hall which will help support the hall to grow activities and build community services. Susan Tron, Community Support Officer from DCA, is working alongside a relatively new committee to try a variety of ways to find out how the community would like to see this important venue made the best use of. Ideas so far include using social media to increase the profile of the hall and inviting younger members to attend the lunch club. For more information about Delves Lane Village Hall please contact Susan Tron on 07496 461998 or email susan.tron@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk.