Confidence-boosting grants to help unemployed people

Voluntary and community groups and social enterprises that can help unemployed people to gain confidence and develop themselves are being offered up to £103,000 by Worcestershire County Council.

The Worcestershire Connections grants are available for organisations that can help people who are furthest from employment and economically inactive.

Projects need to take place between mid-August 2010 and March 2011 and the aim is to address worklessness by helping ex-offenders, lone parents and Incapacity Benefit claimants to be able to help themselves.

The Worcestershire Connections initiative is the local version of Advantage West Midlands' Connections To Opportunities scheme. Projects are already taking place around the county after three organisations successfully bid for Worcestershire Connections grants earlier this year.

Interested voluntary and community sector organisations and social enterprises can submit an expression of interest by 4pm on Tuesday, June 22, with subsequent full applications required by 4pm on Tuesday, July 20. More details can be found in the 'Current grant rounds' section of www.worcestershire.gov.uk/voluntary

Councillor Simon Geraghty, Worcestershire County Council's Cabinet Member for Planning, Economy & Performance, said: "This is a very important project that's helping to tackle worklessness in the county. We were the first West Midlands authority to get the scheme off the ground and I hope we can continue by working with some of the county's excellent voluntary and community sector organisations and social enterprises. The ultimate aim is to strengthen our economy and our communities, so this work benefits everyone."