St. Paul’s Parish Centre in Bolton is set to become a bespoke youth centre thanks to funding awarded to the HAFWAY project. HAFWAY is the Halliwell-based youth project that provides young people with a range of fun indoor and outdoor activities including sports, away days, volunteering, building key skills, the Duke of Edinburgh award, mentoring and more. Founded in 1998 and registered as a charity in 2010, HAFWAY operates with a Christian ethos of acceptance and love for all.
The project has received a £1.5 million grant from the Youth Investment Fund to help them renovate St Paul's Parish Centre. The grant is awarded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the charity Social Investment Business, which is delivering the grant programme in partnership with Key Fund, National Youth Agency and Resonance.
With the help of this additional funding, HAFWAY will be able to continue its amazing work with even more children and young people, helping to improve their health, well-being, skills, and opportunities.
Welcoming the Youth Investment Fund grant, Moira Frew, HAFWAY project manager, said “This funding is a huge investment for the young people and community of Halliwell. Young people in our community face so many challenges and disadvantages but this funding will provide them with a first-class facility where they can be safe, where they can learn new skills and where they can be given the support and help to transition well into adulthood.”
One of HAFWAY’s young volunteers, Muhammad Adam Nawaz, aged 17, said “HAFWAY has really helped me grow and develop from being a young person who attended HAFWAY to being a more mature young adult and volunteer. This extra funding will no doubt help more young people who come to HAFWAY evolve into positive young adults in their community.”
You can find out more about HAFWAY and their amazing work here.