Oldham-based Mahdlo Youth Zone is one of ten charities to receive £50,000 as part of Ecclesiastical’s Movement for Good awards.

The awards, set up by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, have seen a total of £1million given to charities across the UK this summer. 500 have already been awarded donations of £1,000 and now 10 charitable organisations will benefit from £50,000 grants.

Mahdlo, which provides high quality activities and experiences for young Oldham-based people aged 8-25 to enhance their quality of life, was one of the 10 selected from nearly 800 entries

The fund will allow the charity to continue with its ‘five ways to wellbeing’ project, connecting young people to youth workers who provide access to drop-in counselling and art therapy, gives online support and encourages activity through weekly exercise.

Each of the £50,000 awards are designed to help charities take innovative projects to the next level in the fields of education, skills, arts, culture and heritage, as well as citizenship or community development. 

Mark Hews, Group CEO of Ecclesiastical, said: “Ecclesiastical is unlike any other financial services group. Owned by a charity, our core purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society. Charitable giving is therefore at the heart of our business and we are proud to be the fourth largest corporate donor in the UK. Each of these £50,000 awards will fund innovative projects and good ideas that will help make people’s lives better. 

“This summer our Movement for Good awards has motivated over 100,000 members of the public across the UK to support and nominate causes close to their heart. Now we are excited to see how this next financial boost will create a lasting legacy for all the award winners.”

Michelle Vaughan, Fundraiser at Mahdlo, added “We were ecstatic when we heard the news.

“For us it’s now all about investing in mental health support for young people in Oldham, which has been identified as a massive problem and one we genuinely think youth workers will be vital in solving. Providing that support which may then prevent young people’s concerns from escalating is so important.

“Long term, the award will also help us to create an evidence base on how youth work is key to improving mental health.”

An amazing 98,000 people around the UK supported the Movement for Good awards during its first phase earlier this year, with over 7,000 charitable causes up and down the country receiving votes. The 500 winning charities were picked at random from those nominated.

Phase two saw 800 project submissions for the £50,000 awards. Following a review of all the applications, over 20,000 people showed support for a shortlist of 15 charities before a panel of judges made their final selection of the winning projects2

Owned by a charity, Ecclesiastical is the only financial services group that exists to give all its available profits to charity. It has given £100million to charity over the past five years and is the fourth largest corporate giver in the UK3.

For further information on the Movement for Good Awards and for a full list of the winning charities phase visit: www.ecclesiastical.com/movement-for-good

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