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Last modified: 29 Jul 2020 10:38am

The Youth Council in grey hoodies standing in front of a building at Ngati Moki marae

The Selwyn Youth Council is on the lookout for great ideas to support young people in the district.

Applications are open for the Selwyn Youth Project Fund, run by the Youth Council to support groups and individuals with events or activities that support the wellbeing of youth in Selwyn.

Youth Council Chair Liv Duder says the fund offers opportunities young people might not otherwise get, and was an important part of the Youth Council’s role in being there to support all young people in Selwyn. Funds last year supported a day for Māori youth in district along with mental health and  wellbeing initiatives.

“I look forward to seeing the applications every year and hearing what people are passionate about,” says Liv. “We’re here to support youth and make this a more enjoyable place to hang out and live outside of school. It’s cool to see what people want to do and how we can help them achieve it.”

Seeing the range of things that were put forward for funding also helped the Youth Council get an idea of needs in the district and opportunities where they could support young people, she says. It also helps tackle some serious issues close to the Youth Council’s heart she says.

That included the grant they were able to give last year to The Parenting Place charity’s Attitude team to run life-skills and mental health presentations at Darfield High School, Ellesmere College, and Lincoln High School, reaching 2300 students.

“The talk we helped to fund was about mental health and we wanted to make sure that youth were able to participate because it was a massive issue at the time, and still is. The Attitude team interact really well with young people and give the topics a lighter feel while still discussing the more serious issues.”

There is up to $5,000 in funds available, so if you have a cool idea or a plan in place (big or small) to deliver something great for the community, the Selwyn Youth Council are keen to hear from you.

Visit our Youth Council page for criteria and to apply, or email youth.council@selwyn.govt.nz if you have any questions.