Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund Awards Grants to 9 Youth Organisations Across the Country
The Grants Recipients set to engage 5,000 Young People in Ireland over coming 12 months
22,000 Young People have benefitted from the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund since launched in partnership with the Irish Youth Foundation 4 years ago
Today Vhi and the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) announced details of the 9 projects awarded grants through the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund.
Now in its fourth year, the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund supports projects that are focused on strengthening resilience in young people and helping them to manage anxiety, with a particular focus on early intervention and prevention. Non-profit organisations which work with young people in Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny and Limerick were invited to apply for a share of the €90,000 fund this year.
Among this year’s grant recipients is The Shona Project in Dublin, an initiative dedicated to empowering young women through workshops on kindness, resilience and confidence, while celebrating their achievements. The awarded grant will support the development of an Anxiety Video Suite for the Shine Festival, an annual event which attracts thousands of teenage girls nationwide. The suite will help provide expert-led conversational content on understanding and managing anxiety through practical tools such as breathwork, and long-term support to provide girls with a better understanding of how to care for their mental health.
Additionally, the Irish Refugee Council was awarded funding to bolster its advocacy and support services for young people navigating the international protection process in Ireland. This grant will enhance efforts to ensure the well-being of these individuals is prioritised by providing crucial resources to help alleviate anxiety throughout their journey.
In Cork, Wellsprings focuses on creating supportive and homely residential care for young women, helping them enhance their sense of belonging and resilience. Supported by Vhi funding, Wellsprings will implement a staff engagement initiative to deepen understanding of trauma-informed practices. This initiative will merge training and group facilitation to enhance emotional resilience, impart safe coping strategies, and develop skills for recognising and addressing anxiety among residents.
Other grant recipients this year include Aiséirí in Kilkenny, Venture Out in Galway, Donegal Youth Service, Just Ask in Dublin and Blue Box Creative Arts Therapy Centre in Limerick.
This year’s grants add to the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund’s ongoing commitment to supporting youth group initiatives across the country. Over the past four years, the Fund has awarded a total of €360,000, creating a positive impact in the lives of an estimated 22,000 young people across Ireland. The €90,000 awarded to this year’s projects alone will directly benefit approximately 5,000 young people. By focusing on projects that enhance resilience and manage anxiety, the fund has significantly contributed to improving the health and well-being of young people across the nation.
Brian Walsh, Group CEO of Vhi, said: “At Vhi, we’re incredibly proud to continue our longstanding commitment to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people across Ireland. This year, we’ve allocated funding to nine diverse youth projects across the country. The projects were chosen for their innovative ideas and approaches to addressing the needs of young people by empowering them to build resilience, manage their anxiety and ultimately lead to positive mental health outcomes.
The Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund has proven to be a powerful force for change with positive feedback and tangible results from grant recipients over the last four years. We hope that the funding allocated this year will provide young people engaged in selected initiatives with an opportunity to enhance their overall wellbeing. We’re looking forward to seeing the impact that the projects supported this year will have on their communities.”
Lucy Masterson, CEO at Irish Youth Foundation, said: “We are immensely proud of the impact the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund has had on young people in Ireland, and we were delighted to once again partner with Vhi on this important initiative this year. The financial support provided by Vhi will benefit a variety of organisations nationwide which provide vital supports to the most vulnerable young people in our society. We hope that the funding provided will not only have a positive effect on young people, but their peers and communities alike.”
For more information about the Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund visit https://iyf.ie/grants/.