Sunderland's Young Asian Voices awarded more than £250,000 of National Lottery funding

Young Asian Voices (YAV) is celebrating after being awarded almost £257,000 to support its work with the local community.

The group, based in Sans Street Centre, Sunniside, will use the cash for services that will open up opportunities for people to enrich their knowledge and experiences, increase their active citizenship and improve their ability to feel that they have made a difference and are making a positive contribution to society and their community.

YAV has been running since 1996 and is staffed by more than 20 staff members and 23 active volunteers. It was founded initially to address the inequalities and lack of provision for young people from BAME communities in Sunderland, and has grown to become an important part of city life, a fully inclusive and multicultural provision working with diverse ethnicities, age groups and abilities.

Dr Paul Andrew, YAV Chairperson said: “We are delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to press on with our plans to broaden the range of opportunities available to local children, young people and communities.

"This is important because it gives children, young people, adults and the community as a whole empowerment and enables increased social participation. It will help strengthen YAV establish position in the regional map and make our centre a place where people will thrive, feel comfortable, be safe and have fun.”

K. Ramanathas (RAM), YAV Executive Manager said: “We are very thankful to The National Lottery Community Fund for their valuable support as this will make an incredible difference in supporting local communities. YAV as a charity has been going for 25 years and this sets a new footprint in increasing our delivery and enhancing opportunities for local people into volunteering and upskilling.”

The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund will see YAV work across an increasing number of locations to an ever more diverse range of stakeholders and further develop provisions and range of expertise to benefit the community.

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