Make Your Impact with The Martin Trust

Amongst Numerous Grants made, the Trust has Supported:

 

• a Guide, who had raised a large amount of money, selected to represent the United Kingdom at a Commonwealth Girl Guiding event in Anguilla;

• a voluntary youth group in repairing their leaking club room roof;

• the son of a single parent with little money to go on an educational trip abroad;

• a computer purchase for educational use by a young person acting as carer for her mother with a life-limiting illness;

• a cello player, with potential, who needed to fund repairs to the instrument;

• a young Rwandan in the purchase of a bicycle to provide a means of attending college;

• a young woman to travel to Lourdes as a helper with a party of sick and disabled people;

• a young carer supporting a mother with enduring mental problems, to fulfil his dream of learning kick-boxing;

• a party of young Baptists going to Nepal to work with homeless 'Street Kids';

• a new village youth club to purchase basic equipment;

• a thriving Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade unit, short of funds, to purchase a drum set for training youngsters in the unit's successful Marching Band.

 

CURVE YOUNG COMPANY

In January The Martin Trust granted £2,250 to provide five bursaries allowing young people in Leicestershire and Rutland the opportunities to pursue their creative interests in the performing arts.

​

​

​

​

​

L

 

​

​

​

​

​

 

LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND FEDERATION OF YOUNG FARMERS

Young volunteer officers of Leicestershire and Rutland Federation of Young Farmers Clubs declared their weekend of Mental Health Awareness training really beneficial.  A topical subject at a time when Coronavirus was causing increased mental health issues not least among young people. Matthew said the course ‘gave me a better understanding of mental health and how to approach younger members about it’. Romany said ‘ I think it’s good to be given a bank of ways to approach and discuss mental health as a conversation and how to notice the signs and symptoms to look out for. I found it really useful.’  The Trust supported the training with a grant of £600. February 2021.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

RUTLAND MUSIC PROJECT WITH YOUNG CARERS, 2019-20

(See photos on the Martin Trust photo gallery)

Despite the difficulties posed by the pandemic, we have managed to deliver the work as specified in our application. Luckily, as it now happens, we scheduled an initial set of music workshops for young carers and looked-after-children aged 11 to 16 back in February last year prior to the onset of the first lockdown. These workshops followed our tested approach for this age group of using musicians who work in the field of contemporary popular music to engage the young people in a wide range of different musical activities, in musical genres they are familiar with, giving them an opportunity to try out a variety of different musical instruments including drums, keyboards, guitars as well as DJ-ing equipment and other digital technologies. With the start of the first lockdown at the end of March 2020, it took us a little time to realign our activities and move them online. A group of young carers aged 7 to 11 were interested which led to an online song singing workshop in June last year. In addition, throughout this period, we have been meeting monthly online with the Youth Chaos special needs group (many of whom are looked-after in addition to having special needs and disabilities). We also scheduled a short series of 6 choir sessions open to young carers and looked-after-children supported by the Aiming High team at Rutland County Council over November and December last year. Moving our activities online via Zoom has not always been easy, but we are pleased to have been able to grapple with the technology and use it successfully for our own ends. Initially, we had some worries that some young people might not be able to access the sessions (e.g. due to lack of access to internet connection or appropriate device etc.) but this does not seem to have been borne out in practice although, no doubt, still a possibility. Hopefully, we are gradually moving to the end of the crisis and I know that our musicians and the young people they work with are really looking forward to that very first session back. Whilst we expect social distancing and venue numbers to continue to be restricted post-lock down for some time, it will be a great pleasure to meet face-to-face with these young people again and make live music !

Simon Steptoe Inclusion Programme and Partnership Manager -  February 2021   

Grant awarded £800 April 2019

​

VASL Young Carers’ summer activities

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

"Thanks so much to the Martin Trust for the funding to support VASL Young Carers’ summer activities. We took 15 of our young carers for a team building day to an outdoor adventure centre in Northampton. They took part in high ropes, archery tag, team games and bushcraft. It was an excellent day and they all had lots of fun. We are very grateful to the funding we received from the Trust and thank you very much for supporting our work".  

​​