Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation recently received feedback on a grant awarded to Pink Lizard Developing Youth and Community Ltd from the CAP Fund, which allowed the group to deliver a range of initiatives for young people in care, including sports sessions at a local sports centre, which were well attended and where new friendships were made between participants and young people from the local area.
The funding also allowed Pink Lizard to deliver a media project where attendees learned new skills like stop animation (how Wallace and Gromit is made), how to use a camera to film and take photographs, and how to edit film. In addition, they were able to provide music tuition and music production sessions teaching how to record live voice and build tracks using Apple Mac computers working on Garage Band software. In addition, participants were taught how to play guitar, bass guitar and keyboard.
The results of the CAP Funded project have been extremely positive with those involved engaging in the community. The sports activity in particular worked brilliantly, not only improving health and fitness, but making participants feel good about themselves and forge new friendships.
The project was originally identified since many ‘looked after’ youngsters weren’t mixing with local people from the area they lived in. This was thought to be due to a perception that they live in care or in a home because they are “badly behaved” or “are all troublemakers”, which the project wanted to overcome.
Who are Pink Lizard?
Pink Lizard Developing Youth and Community Ltd is a not for profit community based social enterprise, whose main aim is to support people living in deprived communities by developing and delivering meaningful, interesting and fun informal learning opportunities.
They offer emotional and practical support for young people not in education, employment or training and provide courses including photography; music and film writing and production; FA football coaching level 1 certificate; various ASDAN and AIM awards schemes; group activities and support for single parents and fathers; after school and youth based activities and after school provisions for young disabled people.
Their main objective is to encourage involvement, create self-belief, and generate confidence and a more positive outlook among the people they work with.
