Fund seeks to support young people’s health and wellbeing
Over 200,000 young people impacted to date
19th April 2023 – Vhi today launched the third consecutive year of the Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund. Established in 2020 in partnership with the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF), the Fund is dedicated to supporting young people’s health and wellbeing.
The Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund aims to support projects that are seeking to strengthen resilience in young people and help them manage anxiety. In the last two years, 22 youth focused organisations have been awarded grants and to date more than 4,000 young people have been directly impacted through the Fund, with just under 200,000 young people indirectly benefitting from the initiative.
The emphasis this year continues to be on supporting programmes focused on early intervention and prevention for young people. It is open to applications from non-profit and charitable organisations who work directly with young people or with adults who surround them. Grants of €5K and €10K will be available through the Fund.
In addition to making funding available, Vhi are introducing a pilot programme for youth leaders focusing on trauma informed care and worker wellbeing. This programme is being specifically developed by Vhi health experts to support youth leaders in their work with young people.
Speaking at the launch, Brian Walsh, CEO, Vhi Group said: “At Vhi, our purpose is to help our customers live longer, stronger, healthier lives but we also want to help our local communities too. That’s why we’re delighted to launch the third consecutive year of the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund. Its impact to date has been truly inspiring with every young person supported by the Fund over the last two years gaining the opportunity to better understand how to manage their own health and wellbeing while also developing skills to help them navigate feelings of anxiety when they face them. I’d encourage all eligible organisations to apply for the fund.
He continued “In view of the evolving needs of the community and voluntary sector, we are broadening the scope of the Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund this year and introducing a pilot programme for youth leaders specifically. We want to provide them with access to trauma-based training so that they can be better equipped to support the young people they’re working with and help them manage the challenging situations they can be faced with.”
Lucy Masterson, CEO, Irish Youth Foundation, said: “IYF are committed to prioritising health and wellbeing programmes for young people, and so we are delighted that partnering with Vhi has given us another avenue to reach young people and to support them to improve their resilience and manage anxiety.
“From a TikTok campaign highlighting mental health services that reached over 180,000 young people to a specific programme to help manage the anxiety of young people living in direct provision, the impact of the winning projects over the last year has been inspiring. I look forward to seeing similar results with this year’s Fund and would encourage all organisations working in the youth sector to apply.”
The Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund is open to not-for-project or charitable organisations that are seeking to deliver projects dedicated to supporting the resilience of young people aged 12-25 years old in the six locations where Vhi have operations - Cork, Dublin, Donegal, Galway, Kilkenny and Limerick.
For more information, or to make an application, visit www.iyf.ie/grants.
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