Kent Community Foundation has awarded £5,000 to Wye Community Farm so that more children and young people can benefit from time at their Farm Club.
For the past two years Wye Community Farm has been supporting children and young people experiencing difficulties at school, those who are not in education, employment, or training, those with special educational needs or those suffering from isolation or poor mental health at their popular Farm Club. A £5,000 grant from Kent Community Foundation will allow Wye Community Farm to employ a tutor and increase the number of children and young people they can support.
At the Farm Club young people are introduced to the animals, which they help to feed and clean, giving them a feeling of responsibility and helping to develop important life skills including teamwork, communication, concentration, and decision making.
Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation, said, “We were impressed with the ethos of the Wye Farm Club which gives children and young people the opportunity to learn new skills, discover new talents, work as a team and give back to the local community while increasing their confidence and life skills and we were delighted to support them with a grant of £5,000. As well as supporting charities and community groups working with adults and children in local communities, we are committed to funding projects that have a positive effect on the environment and this application was a perfect fit.”
Marina Capriotti, Behaviour for Learning Coach at Wye School, said, “Wye School attend Wye Community Farm one day a week during term time. Our students are referred by Heads of Year and are those that struggle most with behaviour, anxiety, or self-esteem. Wye Community Farm has consistently provided opportunities for them to learn new skills, discover new talents, work as a team and give back to the local community. It only takes a few visits for them to understand the many jobs needed to be tackled and their confidence to grow. The farm provides a safe, calm space for them to develop their functional, social, and emotional skills and we have found it to be an invaluable alternative way of learning which our students look forward to.”
To contact Kent Community Foundation call, 01303 814500 or visit www.kentcf.org.uk
Notes to Editors
The application from Wye Community Farm highlighted the need for the Farm Club. The Ashford District has 9.9% of pupils identified as having special educational needs, with 3.6% on an education health care plan Over 16% of pupils in the area are in receipt of free school meals and disadvantages have magnified during Covid 19. Locally there are 365 excluded secondary school children needing support and the percentage of young people not in education, or employment is 3.3%.
About Wye Community Farm
Wye Community Farm, farms around 120 acres, mainly on the Wye National Nature Reserve but also on behalf of several local landowners with small areas not suited to large scale agriculture. They produce meat boxes (beef, pork and lamb), woodland products (firewood, charcoal) and preserves made from home grown produce (pickled onions, raspberry jam).
Owned and run by its members, Wye Community Farm is demonstrating important new ways for the public to reconnect with where their food comes from and how the countryside is managed.
About Kent Community Foundation
Grant-maker Kent Community Foundation has been finding, funding, and supporting some of the smallest voluntary organisations in the county for 20 years. In this time, it has distributed over £44 million to support thousands of small charities and deserving causes where a modest sum of money can make a significant impact.
They are part of a UK wide accredited network of forty-six Community Foundations who are committed to improving the lives of local people and communities, particularly the most vulnerable, isolated, and disadvantaged by matching those who want to help, with those who need the help.
Responsible for more than 80 philanthropic funds, Kent Community Foundation is unrivalled in its knowledge of local causes and assists individuals, families, and businesses, who want to help, to establish and administer their own charitable funds.
