The Trustees of the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation had their first face to face meeting for 2 years last Saturday and they agreed to allocate a staggering £101,550 for awards for local youngsters in 2022. This includes a new £33,000 Jubilee Fund for local school children, in celebration of the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

Despite all the challenges in 2021 the charity received fantastic support from many businesses, individuals and schools and it proved to be a very successful fundraising year. However, the continued restrictions lead to a reduction in the number of JTYAF awards made during 2021. Youngsters were unable to take part in their activities in the same way as they had pre-Covid and as a result, there were extra funds available for 2022. This extra funding, The Jubilee Fund, is available for 8 local schools who have been invited to bid for financial awards for special projects which will support the mental health and well being of their children.

The pandemic has disrupted the life of every child in our community and significantly impacted their mental health in many ways. The Jubilee Fund has been made available to schools in the Ferndown area and will make a big difference to the lives of local youngsters

Pete Thornton Chair of the JTYAF commented. “We continue to be humbled by the support that John’s Foundation receives. Any charity is the sum of its supporters, and we are so grateful to everyone whose generosity has helped the JTYAF to continue to do its great work with young people. 2022 is going to be an exciting year and the Jubilee Fund a really appropriate way to mark the Queen’s Jubilee.”