AN ORGANISATION supporting young people is celebrating after receiving more than £165,000.

Cumbria Youth Alliance has been awarded a development grant by the Youth Futures Foundation.

The £165,300 award will support the organisation in its work to deliver First Steps to a Sustainable Future to 150 young people aged 16 to 24.

Cumbria Youth Alliance was set up in 1997 to be the lead agency for organisations working with young people in Cumbria. Its aim was to bring agencies together to plan and deliver high quality services across Cumbria and ensure youth work has a strong voice.

In 2020 alone it supported more than 700 agencies in the county which work with children, young people and families, as well as directly supporting more than 1,000 young people described as being “on the margins of society, socially and economically”.

Becky Wolstenholme, chief executive of Cumbria Youth Alliance, said: “The partnership with Youth Futures Foundation is perfect timing for CYA, providing the platform for our organisation to build upon the fantastic support we provide the most vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in Cumbria.

“We are excited to be in partnership with Youth Futures to support the most marginalised young people overcome the challenges they face to moving into meaningful work. With established partners and with a restructuring of the organisation, we will improve the Infrastructure support throughout Cumbria, strengthen and embed the positive journey for every young person we work with to enable them to reach their full potential.”

Youth Futures Foundation’s chief executive, Anna Smee, said: “This partnership will support our ambitions and help to deliver our vision.”