Maidenhead & Windsor

Young people in the Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough have scored top marks in their innovative lessons in financial democracy - and this week will showcase their successes at a special celebration evening.

The Windsor and Maidenhead youngsters have been taking part in the popular Youth Opportunity Fund scheme which promotes spending by young people for young people and gives them the purse-strings for activities and projects across the borough.

Each year for the last three years the scheme has provided £160,000 to the borough to be spent on group activities and projects for 13-19-year-olds.

Young people trained as assessors invite other young people and youth groups to apply for funding for schemes such as residential courses, arts workshops, DJ workshops and the purchasing of new equipment.

Panels of young assessors consider applications and decide which schemes should be allocated money - and many of the groups who have received funding since the launch of the scheme will be showcasing their activities at the celebration evening on Wednesday May 28 in the Desborough Suite, Town Hall, Maidenhead from 6.30 to 8.30pm.

Representatives from local Windsor and Maidenhead scout groups, Duke of Edinburgh participants, the Outdoor Education Project, members of youth clubs and local disabled children's groups will display their projects and demonstrate to the assessors and other visitors how their group has benefited from the funding. Assessors will also be on hand to talk to visitors about how the funding works and the criteria for groups applying for funding.

Maidenhead MP Theresa May will present Youth Opportunity awards to all the participating groups during the evening. Also attending will be Jodie Dingwall, the Royal Borough's recently-elected MYP (Member of Youth Parliament).

Cllr Eileen Quick, lead member for Windsor and Maidenhead children's services, said: "This showcase event is an excellent way of demonstrating how this Youth Opportunity funding has been spent in the borough.

"A great many groups have benefited from the money to help them do things they really want to do and places they want to go - which in turn helps to develop their confidence and skills. The YOF funding is a real bonus - and I would urge groups to think about applying to help get their schemes off the ground."

For more information on how to apply for funding contact Denise Gilholme on 01628 683656 or Danny Gomm on 01628 510289.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead