Coventry youth club launched to help tackle food poverty
Over £32,000 was given to the charity to combat the rising cost of living.
A Coventry charity is helping young people in the city with the launch of weekly support clubs and free hot meals.
Positive Youth Foundation (PYF) has reached over 160 local people with its Winter Youth Clubs, which aims to tackle food poverty in the community.
It has been made possible thanks to funding from Coventry Building Society, who have donated a share of £1 million to fund cost-of-living support in the city.
The sessions, which run three-days a week at Hillfields Young Peoples Centre, will provide a warm space and hot meal for young people to take home or distribute in their community.
The clubs are open to 13 to 18-year-olds, and will provide them with access to a professional tutor, IT equipment, and a range of activities to promote education, community, and good mental wellbeing.
Krishan Singh, Director of Operations at PYF, said: "We want to empower young people to support their local community and combat the challenges we all face regarding the increased cost of living, and we are thrilled that we have been able to get this initiative up and running with the support of Coventry Building Society.
"We will also be signposting other support programmes to ensure we have a lasting and sustainable impact on those we reach."
He continued: "One of our main goals is to give young people the tools and awareness to identify these issues as they are unfolding so that they themselves can go on to support vulnerable people in their communities and be part of the solution – including delivering food parcels to help others who may not have access to food banks."
Anna Cuskin, Corporate Responsibility Manager at Coventry Building Society, said: "We recently announced a £1m donation to support various charities and organisations in our home city to help people keep safe, warm and well during the coming months.
"PYF’s Winter Youth Clubs initiative is a great example of how these funds are helping to serve our local community during this winter."
She added: "We understand the cost-of-living crisis is making lives harder and we hope our donation will help shine a light on the support that’s available locally to people who need it the most."
The Winter Youth Clubs are open from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, but food parcels will be available for young people to pick up throughout the winter period, including outside of PYF’s opening hours.