WIREDGOV

Across Scotland, two projects set to inspire the next generation of musicians, music producers and sound engineers, are amongst 37 benefiting today (Friday 23 June) from £1,534,172 from the Young Start fund.

The Young Start fund aims to support young people aged eight to 24 years old to reach their full potential awarding funding from dormant bank and building society accounts.

Find out where funding has gone in your area

Working with children and young people with learning disabilities Drake Music Scotland, will be able to continue running a successful project from their community recording studio in Edinburgh thanks to today’s grant of £28,775. The youngsters are supported to develop their skills and confidence to pursue a career in music technology and are encouraged to express their creative talents in free weekly workshops giving them the opportunity to learn music mixing and sampling skills.

Thursa Sanderson OBE, Chief Executive, Drake Music Scotland, said: “Absolutely brilliant! We are over the moon with this news which will give our young people with additional support needs this huge boost at a time in their lives when there is a lot of change and they are experiencing many challenges.

“Our students will get the chance to explore their love of music, build their skills and hopefully find some like-minded friends along the way. They will learn about music and audio production techniques and how to record and edit soundtracks – even creating their own music to surprise everyone who knows them. We hope to see all our young people taking significant steps forward in confidence, communication skills, self-image and self-esteem that will help them develop and move a stage closer towards achieving their potential.”

Josephine Nyaradzo Kanjanga, 20, from Edinburgh, has been working in the studio on her music and honing her new skills. She said, “It was brilliant working with Logic software and learning to play and record the piano and I feel more comfortable and independent now to when I started. The tutors are really patient and helpful and I never feel embarrassed to ask for help as it’s always there when I need it.”

From their base in Kirriemuir, DD8 Music will be able to continue their community music project for local young people for another two years, thanks to an award of £50,000.

Graham Galloway, Music Development Worker, DD8 Music, said: “We are over the moon to be receive another two years of Young Start funding.  We have lots of exciting new plans for the near future, including some amazing international projects. This funding has secured those projects and will open some life changing opportunities for the young people we work with.”

Katie Reid, 20, is DD8 Music’s Chairperson and has been involved with the group since she was nine years old. Katie said, “We are so pleased to receive this grant as it means we can carry on creating safe and inspiring projects for the young people of Kirriemuir and the surrounding area. We are as grateful for this opportunity as it allows us to continue providing this much needed service for the local community.”

Announcing the funding totalling £1,534,172, Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, said: “Young Start helps Scotland’s next generation unlock their talents through a wide range of activities. These are designed to engage and inspire young people, and ensure they have the best possible start in life.

“Each of these awards also shares another aim - giving young people chances to develop skills for a better future so I am delighted to announce this latest investment.”

For more information about Young Start visit the website at:-
https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/global-content/programmes/scotland/young-start

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 0141 242 1451
Email:        lorna.mcniven@biglotteryfund.org.uk
Website:    www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Twitter:     @BIGScotland #BigScotland
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundScotland

Notes to Editors

• Dormant accounts are defined in the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 as those which have seen no customer-initiated activity for at least 15 years.
• In September 2011 the Scottish Government formally issued instructions to the Big Lottery Fund to distribute dormant accounts funding for the benefit of Scotland’s voluntary and community sector.
• The Reclaim Fund Ltd. (RFL), which was established in March 2011 to receive and invest dormant account balances across the UK, transferred the first tranche of monies from dormant bank and building society accounts to BIG on 2 August 2011. Scotland will receive an 8.4% share of the total funds to be distributed.
• The Distribution of Dormant Account Money (Apportionment) Order 2011 prescribes that Scotland will receive 8.4% of the dormant accounts money to be made available for distribution by the Big Lottery Fund under the 2008 Act. The estimated grants budget for 2014/15 is £4.8m. It should be noted that this figure is a median projection and may go up or down.
• The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
• Since June 2004 we have awarded over £8 billion to projects that change the lives of millions of people. Every year we fund 13,000 small local projects tackling big social problems like poor mental health and homelessness.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £34 billion has been raised and more than 450,000 grants awarded.