Three young friends from Redcar who formed their own community initiative have been shortlisted for an award.
Food 4 Thought @ Christmas, the brainchild of Chloe Pettite and Lacey Horton, both aged 17, and Sophie McCormick, aged 19, has been shortlisted for the ‘Inspirational Group’ award by social enterprise, The Keys.
The girls who are all part of Coast & Country Housing’s New Generation Group, were inspired by the closure of the SSI steelworks to form their own community initiative called ‘Food 4 Thought @ Christmas’, which delivered 80 parcels of food and gifts – enough for over 300 people – to foodbanks run by the Redcar Area Foodbank, part of the Trussell Trust.
The group were able to buy the supplies for the parcels after securing Stage 4 funding from The Keys, a social enterprise that encourages young people to use their passions and interests to run community-focussed projects with the aim of helping them to develop their skills for real world success.
The judges at Keys shortlisted the girls for the Inspirational Group award after being moved by their community spirit following the closure of SSI, resourcefulness in sourcing donations and stretching their budget, and commitment to helping as many people as possible.
Steph Pew, Community Investment Officer at Coast & Country nominated the group, said: “Chloe, Lacey and Sophie should all be extremely proud to have made the shortlist for the Inspirational Group award.
“Their Food 4 Thought @ Christmas project was a huge success. Their parcels of food and gifts reached over 300 local foodbank users. Making sure that the project delivered the parcels on time and within budget took a huge amount of preparation, work and dedication.
“The project definitely had a positive impact on the girls. They have grown in confidence, developed new relationships and learnt new skills, all of which they are now applying in their personal life and studies.
“We hope they have a great time at the awards ceremony and wish them the best of luck.”
Sophie said: “We had a great time working through the steps in The Keys programme with the New Generation group. It was fantastic to see a project like that through from start to finish and it gave us a huge sense of satisfaction to know what we were able to make a positive impact within our community.
“I would recommend that any young person in Redcar who lacks confidence or wants to gain some experience and organisational skills to join the New Generation Group and take part in The Keys programme. It teaches you so much, not only about the area we live in, but also about yourself and what you’re capable of.
“I’m really nervous about the awards ceremony because I would really love to win. To take home the Inspirational Group award would be the icing on the cake of what has been an amazing experience.”