January 2012
sMileS funding helps give Kirklees a brighter future
A generous £18k donation to The Prince's Trust
in Kirklees is helping young people back into work in the area.
Kirklees based text messaging provider SMileS SMS, has
donated £18k to fund The Prince’s Trust
Development Awards, which are cash grants of between £50 and
£500, to help disadvantaged young people access work, training or
education.
This comes as more than one in five young people in Kirklees (23
per cent) are struggling to find a job. Across the district the
number of young people trapped on benefits for more than six months
has more than doubled since before the recession.
Annabel Ruddiman, 19, from Huddersfield, was unemployed before a
Development Award helped her get a job at a local swimming pool.
She had been made redundant from a hair salon and spent the next
six months searching for work without any luck.
She said:
It was really tough because I had trained to be
a hairdresser and then I was made redundant from the first job I
had. For the next few months I applied for job after job but I
didn’t hear anything. I was really depressed and fed-up, which is
when I heard about The Prince's Trust.
Annabel decided she wanted to re-train as a lifeguard, but
didn’t have the money to pay for the lifesaving course. She applied
for a Development Award and received a £270 grant so she could pay
for it. She passed and recently managed to get a job at Halifax
Swimming Pool in Calderdale working as a lifeguard.
Annabel said:
The support from The Prince's Trust was
absolutely brilliant and really made a difference to my life.
Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to get the job and I would
still be unemployed and depressed. I can't thank SMileS and The
Trust enough.
Last year, The Trust helped more than 3,500 young people in
Yorkshire and The Humber, giving them the skills and confidence to
find a job. More than three in four young people on Prince's Trust
schemes move into work, education or training.
Mark Evans from SMileS, part of ME Consultancy Limited said:
We are delighted to be making this donation to
The Prince’s Trust, which is doing fantastic work in
Yorkshire.
Andy Farley from The Prince's Trust in Yorkshire added:
We would like to thank SMileS for their
generous donation. Annabel is living proof that it is possible
for young people to turn their lives around. With this extra
financial support, we’re hoping to change more young lives across
Kirklees.