£12,000 from United By 2022
Young Brummies are set to launch three new community initiatives after receiving £12,000 from United By 2022, the legacy charity of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Projects aimed at encouraging sporting participation, a community dance programme and a homelessness support scheme have all been selected for funding.
The cash comes through the charity’s Ideas Made Real programme, which gives 16 to 24-year-olds across the West Midlands the chance to turn powerful social action ideas into real, community-led projects.
44 projects since 2022
Since launching in 2022, the programme has backed 44 projects, helping young people bring ideas to life in areas including sport, mental health, creative arts, food poverty, environmental action and community cohesion.
This year, United By 2022 is investing £50,000 into eight youth-led projects across the region, offering each project not only funding but also mentoring, skills development and practical support from the charity’s youth team and partner organisations.
Birmingham is home to three of this year’s successful initiatives, reflecting the city’s energy, creativity and commitment to grassroots change. The funded projects are:
• Boxy – creating sports boxes for young people using recycled or donated equipment such as football boots, socks, shinpads and shorts, helping remove barriers to participation.
• Echoes of Culture – a community dance programme exploring cultural hybridity, identity and shared lived experience through movement and creative expression.
• Rising Levels – providing warm, nutritious meals for people experiencing homelessness, while giving them opportunities to share their experiences and influence positive change.
Ideas Made Real programme
Nicola Turner, CEO of United By 2022, said: “We’re proud to support these vital social action projects, which give young people in Birmingham the chance to use their creativity, skills and energy to give back to their communities.
“From music and dance to sport and food, each initiative provides opportunities to make positive change while connecting young people with others who share their drive to help.”
She added: “The Ideas Made Real programme offers young people mentorship, investment and practical support to help take their ideas off the page and into communities where they can have real impact.”
The Ideas Made Real programme is open to young people aged 16 to 24 living in Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
