Young people at Strangford Integrated College to benefit from the DofE Diamond fund
Young people at Strangford Integrated College to benefit from the DofE Diamond fund
Strangford College is delighted to announce that it has received funding from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’s (DofE) Diamond fund to enable the College to reach and support all our young people who want to do their DofE.
The funding will help provide equipment and kit needed for the students to take part in expeditions. It will also help deliver and provide training for the students to successfully take part in their Silver award, using an approved activity provider.
The DofE’s Diamond fund is made up of £1.5 million raised by over 15,000 supporters who took part in the DofE’s Diamond Challenge – celebrating the Charity’s Diamond Anniversary year (2016) – and additional donations to double Diamond Anniversary fundraising across the UK.
Through Strangford College’s project, young people in the school community will develop life changing skills such as communication, resilience and team work; create new friendships, and gain the confidence to reach their potential.
Joanne Lindores, DofE Co-ordinator at Strangford College said, “Strangford College is incredibly excited to have received a grant from the DofE’s Diamond fund. It will enable us to reach and support more young people in our school community from all backgrounds enabling them to take part in the DofE award. The DofE is an integral part of Strangford College’s school life and we will be using this money to facilitate the delivery of the silver award and ensure our students have access to all the training they need to successfully complete their expeditions This gives our young people the opportunity to develop communication and confidence skills that are transferable to life and work, by helping out in their local community, learning a new skill, keeping fit and experiencing the great outdoors.”
Peter Westgarth, Chief Executive of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award says, “We are delighted to grant Strangford College money from the DofE Diamond fund to enable even more young people in the school community the opportunity to do their DofE. The life changing benefits of a DofE programme should be readily available to any young person who wants to help themselves to go further in life.”
The DofE is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading achievement award for young people. DofE programmes enable any young person, age 14-24, to develop key skills for life and work such as confidence, commitment and team working. Those who achieve a Bronze and Silver DofE Award will volunteer, learn a skill, get fit and undertake an expedition in wild country. Those who achieve a Gold Award also take part in a week long residential.
There are currently around 420,000 young people doing a DofE programme across the UK through a variety of centres including both state and independent schools, special schools, businesses, prisons, young offender institutions and youth groups.
To find out more about the DofE and how it enables young people to succeed, please visit DofE.org.
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Photo attached: Photo shows some of the Year 10 students taking part in the DofE Bronze programme who will benefit from the funding, with the DofE Strangford College Co-ordinator Joanne Lindores.
For further information about the DofE programme or Strangford College please contact the office on T: 02891 861199
Strangford College, Abbey Road, Carrowdore.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award notes to editors – figures correct as of 2016/17 stats
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is the world’s leading youth achievement award that is currently helping 420,000 young people to develop for life and work in the UK. In 2016/2017, over 270,000 young people started a DofE programme, including nearly 50,000 from disadvantaged backgrounds. Founded by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 1956, the DofE is currently being delivered in 10,800 DofE centres such as schools, youth clubs and prisons, supported by over 2,600 partner organisations and approximately 40,000 adult volunteers from all walks of life.
In total, over six million people have participated in DofE programmes in the UK and achieved over 2.7 million Awards since 1956. In 2016/2017, 133,369 achieved a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
The DofE is supported by UK employers including Amey, AO.com, British Gas, DFS, Heathrow, Royal Mail and RSM who endorse the skills and attributes developed whilst doing a DofE programme such as resilience, commitment, self-motivation and team working.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a Registered Charity No 1072490 and in Scotland No SC038254 and a Royal Charter Corporation RC000806
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation is a Registered Charity in England and Wales, No 1072453. There are more than one million young people currently participating globally in more than 140 countries and territories.
For more information about the DofE, go to DofE.org.
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