The next round of the ASDA Foundation’s U18 Better Starts Grants programme has opened to applications. The grant programme is designed to support a wide range of activities and projects to enable under-18s in the UK have the best start in life. Grants are available across the following 4 themed areas:
1. Being Active: to ensure every child has the opportunity to be active. These are likely to be physical activities that are inclusive for all children and embrace diversity (for example, any under-18s sport or physical activity-based groups).
2. Celebrating and Bringing Children Together: enabling under 18s to celebrate within the community. These are likely to be activities that will bring children together to share experiences.
3. Improving Wellbeing: activities to support a child's mental health and to encourage creativity. These are likely to be projects that are inclusive for all children, are accessible to everyone and embrace diversity (for example, arts, crafts, music, hobby groups, Brownies, Scouts and Guides, training for counsellors and learning clubs such as reading support and homework clubs).
4. Supporting Essentials: to ensure there is no hungry child and basic essentials are provided for. These are likely to be activities that focus on the provision of healthy, nutritious food, plus hygiene and health-related supplies for children (for example. breakfast clubs, school holiday clubs, food banks that support children, hygiene banks and clothing banks).
Round 2 of the programme has a focus on children being supported during the summer of 2022. Possible projects could include (please note that this is not an exclusive list):
o Healthy eating projects.
o Play schemes.
o Projects that address mental health issues among young people, and
o The provision of food over the holiday period.
Grants of between £500 and £1,500 are available with no matched funding requirement. Eligible organisations may apply for one grant per year from the Foundation's U18’s programme. Projects should start at least 6 weeks after an organisation’s application is submitted to allow sufficient time for processing.
To apply, applicants should make contact with the Community Champion within their local ASDA superstore. The location of ASDA stores can be found using the Foundation’s store locator.
Applications must be submitted to the local Community Champion by Friday 19 August 2022.
Further information about the U18’s Grant Programme is available on the ASDA Foundation website.
