Harrison Centre’s £10,000 boost to North East social mobility

Harrison Centre’s £10,000 boost to North East social mobility

Young people in the North East have received a new year’s boost in the latest round of grants from the Harrison Centre for Social Mobility.

The Denton Youth & Community Project (DYCP) on Tyneside and youth development charity, NE Youth, will share a £10,000 donation from the Harrison Centre.

The funding will enable both organisations to continue their work with young people to widen horizons and open opportunities.

Since the Harrison Centre was founded, almost £600,000 has been donated to charities and organisations across the UK that work to eradicate social mobility barriers and level up opportunities for young people.

Its founder David Harrison grew up in County Durham with his adopted parents and rose to become one of the UK’s most successful tech entrepreneurs, building multi-million pound businesses in the North East from scratch.

For over 20 years David has used his success in business to support charities that work to inspire young people, both through the Harrison Centre for Social Mobility and its sister organisation, the Harrison Foundation.

Speaking about the most recent donations, David said: “It’s a long-held belief of mine that your background, where you grew up, who you knew, shouldn’t determine how far you can go in life. The problem is that those things still do have too much of a bearing on young people’s lives, who often feel their life chances are limited as a result. What we’re trying to show them is that if you work hard, have the right attitude and determination, you can go far. Both the Denton Youth & Community Project and NE Youth do excellent work in supporting and inspiring young people. We’re pleased we can support them.”

NE Youth is one of the North East’s leading youth development charity’s supporting young people in the region. Its vision is to make sure all young people have the opportunities they deserve, and to get involved in their communities, enjoy their lives and achieve their potential.

This year NE Youth will celebrate its 85th anniversary. CEO Jon Niblo said: “NE Youth were delighted to receive our most recent grant from the Harrison Centre for Social Mobility. The award will enable us to kick start the Healthy and Happy programme, which will provide young people with new programmes and projects in their communities.”

Meanwhile the Denton Youth & Community Project, based in Newcastle’s Outer West, aims to establish early engagement with individuals and to maintain long-term contact, so that they get not only the best possible start in life but also opportunities to remain connected to their communities. DYCP has worked with 6,492 Individuals since 2010.

DYCP manager Dave Hewitt said: “In these extremely challenging financial times, having the support from organisations such as the Harrison Centre for Social Mobility enables us to support local communities by offering much needed support and services, particularly to children, young people and their families.

“The staff, trustees, volunteers and those people who access our services are so grateful for the continued and valuable support we receive. This donation from the Harrison Centre will in part be used to set up a new group for young people aged 6-15 who are desperate to make a difference to the neighbourhood in which they live and to their own life skills.”

In 2018, David Harrison co-founded the national Social Mobility Pledge, with former Education Secretary, Rt Hon Justine Greening. The Pledge asks businesses to commit to fair recruitment, offering apprenticeships and working with local schools to level up Britain.

Over 400 organisations employing over three million people have signed the Pledge.

Get in touch with us today for more information about the Harrison Centre for Social Mobility.

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