Lottery donates £300,000 to support Cambs LGBTQ+ young people
Cambridgeshire charity The Kite Trust has been awarded £300,000 from the National Lottery to support LGBTQ+ young people. - Credit: The Kite Trust
A charity supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning young people across Cambridgeshire has received a cash boost.
The Kite Trust, which runs groups in March, Ely, Cambridge, Peterborough and Huntingdon, has received £300,000 from the National Lottery.
What started as a support group in Cambridge in the mid-1990s now reaches county-wide with 14 members of staff and around 30 volunteers.
The trust delivers youth services, including an annual residential programme, and also work with local services and employers to improve LGBTQ+ awareness and inclusion.
Pip Gardner, trust chief executive, said: “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way.
“Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to expand our services, with the voices and views of LGBTQ+ young people at the heart of that process, and be better placed to meet their diverse needs, experiences and interests.”
The new funding, from The National Lottery Community Fund, will see The Kite Trust expand their services to be able to support 500 young people a year.
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The news comes as the charity is also preparing to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility later this month, with the day itself being marked on the March 31.
Pip added: “For the trans community in the UK, especially young trans people, they have been affected by a lot of hateful information spread in the media and online in recent months.
“With the international day of visibility coming up, and in light of this tremendous financial boost to the social and support services we are able to offer, we would love for everyone to join with us in the moment to show trans people, and through them all LGBTQ+ young people, that they are valued in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.”
Over the last year, around 350 young people have taken part in The Kite Trust activities.
The sessions help young people to make friends, as well as learning new skills and having fun.
The trust also run a peer support group for parents and carers and are exploring new provision for families including siblings to start soon.
