£30,000 for Falkirk Community Trust to help youngsters stay creative in lockdown

The significant cash boost from the Scottish Government’s emergency Youth Arts Fund comes at a time when child poverty is likely to increase across the Falkirk area during the current coronavirus pandemic.

Falkirk Community Trust chairman David White said: “I am thrilled we have been awarded this money which will enable us to create a programme of music activity for children and young people currently living in poverty.

"The programme will help them explore and develop their own music skills, build confidence and capacity in their abilities and widen access to a range of other activities that are currently ‘off limits’ to them due to a number of barriers, not least economic.”

The massive funding bid was developed in partnership with the Falkirk Council Fairer Falkirk team as part of Falkirk Community Planning Partnership’s Towards a Fairer Falkirk 2019-2024 anti-poverty strategy, which is committed to addressing the impact poverty has on children by ensuring that those living in low income households have an opportunity to develop new skills.

https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/people/here-are-14-of-the-best-hairdressers-and-salons-in-falkirk-chosen-by-our-readers-3151737

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The new music project aims to support young people aged 11 to 14 years to access out of school creative activity, with the opportunity for participants to work with musicians to learn to play a trad musical instrument, explore and develop music technology, research the music of the Falkirk area – from the traditional songs of the Trysts to the present day and create music for publication on music sharing platforms.

The Trust believes there is the potential for the project to impact positively on participants’ learning experience both through the project and across school life in general.

Falkirk Council leader Cecil Meiklejohn said: “Developing this project will mean many children and young people living in poverty will now have an ability to

develop their musical skills and talents.

"Falkirk Community Trust is working on a programme that previously would have been out of bounds for many and this is just part of the overall plan to help alleviate child poverty in general.”

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