‘Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund’ Grants awarded to four Kilkenny projects

Vhi and the Irish Youth Foundation (IYF) have announced details of the 11 projects awarded grants from the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund - Four of those projects will have an impact on young people living in Kilkenny.

Now in its second year, the Vhi Health and Wellbeing Fund, which opened for applications earlier this year, was designed to fund projects that were seeking to strengthen resilience in young people and help them manage anxiety, with an emphasis on early intervention and prevention work. Non-profit charity organisations who work with young people in Kilkenny, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Donegal and Galway were invited to apply for a share of the €85,000 Fund.

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A panel of judges made up of experts representing the youth sector and those working with young people around managing anxiety came together to review the applications for the Fund with eleven organisations chosen to receive grants. The judges’ decisions were finalised in recent weeks with grants provided to projects to be carried out in 2022/2023.

The winning organisations impacting young people in Kilkenny are:

• The Acorn Project, who will create "The Journey Home", a nine-month nature immersion and forest therapy programme for young people. The nature-based wellbeing programme will involve a combination of forest therapy, story exchange, mentoring and ancestral skills to resource young people with lifelong wellbeing and resilience practices. 
• Turn2Me, a national mental health charity, will be delivering 20 mental health seminars for secondary students in schools in the six counties, including Kilkenny, where Vhi have offices. 
• spunout is Ireland’s youth information and support website and they will be developing a Mental Skills Hub: a library of resources accessible online and promoted to young people who want to strengthen their resilience by gaining a deeper understanding of their thoughts and feelings.
• Way 2 Work Ireland will offer a two-tier support programme to young people with experience of foster care who are struggling with their mental health.

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Dr Nick Young, Chief Clinical Officer, Vhi Health & Wellbeing said: “Through the Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund we aim to live our mission to help people live longer, stronger, healthier lives. This is the second year of the Vhi Health & Wellbeing Fund, and this year, we wanted to continue our support of young people and help the organisations they engage with to provide the supports that are so critical at the moment to help them navigate uncertainty, strengthen their resilience and manage their anxiety. We’re delighted to be awarding grants to another eleven organisations this year and look forward to seeing these ideas delivered in the coming months.”

Lucy Masterson, CEO, Irish Youth Foundation, said: “We were delighted to partner with Vhi again this year. This current generation of young people have had so much to deal with in the last couple of years that projects like these that invest directly in youth supports are vital to help them overcome the challenges they’ve experienced and move ahead with the confidence and resilience to manage their future. The eleven successful organisations have some great project ideas, and I can’t wait to see them come to life and hopefully other youth orientated organisations can learn from the impact these projects will have.”

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