SOMERSET Community Foundation has awarded its first Youth Social Action Fund grants to four Somerset community groups.

The YSAF is part of the national #iwill fund which encourages young people to engage in social action - such as campaigning, fundraising, and volunteering.

The groups that have benefited from the first round of awards are Wells City Football Club, Ilminster Entertainment Society, Action Track in Taunton and The Taunton East Development Trust.

LINK POWER.

Link Power is a voluntary organisation run by the Taunton East Development Trust.

Its primary function is to break the cycle of unemployment in the Halcon ward, which currently sits within the top four per cent for depravation in the country. The YSAF grant money will be used to support and develop one of their volunteers.

Paul Johnson, from Link Power, said: “We are a community-led project running entirely on charitable contributions and funds can be very hard to find.

"Our project has grown substantially over the past two years and through developing one of our volunteers we are able to free up more time to help others.”

Volunteers assist with monthly litter picks for young people living in the area, and Mr Johnson said that with additional funding the project can be further developed, allowing the group to engage more with local families, with the ultimate ambition of returning many back to employment and improving lives.

POWER THROUGH MUSIC.

Power Through Music is a new project launched by Actiontrack and aims to develop the skills, confidence and ability of disadvantaged young people by providing music making workshops which enable young people to articulate their thoughts and concerns about the world through music.

Nick Brace said: "These outreach workshops will empower young people to find ways to improve their worlds and the lives of people in their community, bringing together young people who have never made music together before.

"Alongside these creative workshops we will deliver three masterclasses in community activism which will teach and develop the young people's capacity to research, develop and campaign for improvements to their community.”

At the end of the process the young people's compositions will be professionally recorded in Actiontrack’s recording studio and uploaded to an online music platform.

The young people will also have the opportunity to perform their new compositions live to those who make decisions for their community.

*The #iwill fund, coordinated by the charity Step Up To Serve, is made up of a £40 million joint commitment by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Big Lottery Fund and has been launched to help increase the number of young people taking part in social action, which can develop the skills and knowledge of young people that employers look for. The #iwill fund is supported by match-funding from UK Community Foundations.