Hooves to Wheels course for Traveller Youth Group was funded by Awards for All grant

I WOULD like to respond to Maria Stableford’s letter in your February 14 edition in which she asks who is funding the Hooves to Wheels course that is being undertaken by a Traveller Youth Group.

I am the chairman of Community CARTS (Communication, Activity, Resources, Training and Support), the award-winning management organisation that supports youth clubs and activities in many of the East Cambridgeshire and Fenland border villages, including the Traveller Youth Group in question.

Services are offered to councils, schools and community groups to support sustainable and effective youth work.

Our team of well-qualified and experienced youth workers and facilitators is led by Mick Oliver, who Maria mentioned, who is employed as our project development manager and does not work directly for any council.

The Traveller Youth Group Management Committee secured the funding for this project from Awards for All, which is part of The Big Lottery Fund. The funding did not come from the council or residents.

Maria mentioned that the regular working class family cannot afford such luxury. Awards for All is exactly that – for all! If she wants to set up a non-profit making group that matches the required criteria (see the Awards for All website for guidance) and make a bid for funding she may find that these activities are not so far out of reach as she had previously thought.

JEAN GALLYER

Via e-mail