ONE of the UK’s largest charitable funders has given away its £1billionth donation to a youth charity in Evesham.

The Garfield Weston Foundation says it was attracted to Ourside Youth Association in Evesham because it was set-up by a group of teenagers and its services continue to be run by young people, for young people.

The foundation is celebrating its 60th Anniversary and its £1billionth donation will bring the total number of individual grants to over 40,000.

The Garfield Weston Foundation’s Director, Philippa Charles, said: “Ourside really shows that when young people are determined they can achieve amazing things and make a real difference in our community. We love that after ten years teenagers are still making the decisions at Ourside and it’s thriving as a result.

"We know that this donation will enable them to reach many more young people and have a real impact both today and in the future. We couldn’t think of a better charity to receive our £1billionth donation in our 60th anniversary year. ”

Ourside will receive a grant of £70,000 over the next three years as part of the foundation’s £1billionth donation.

Ourside Youth Association founder, Carly Elwell, said: “The day we received the news from the Garfield Weston Foundation was a very emotional one for us, there were definitely tears of joy.

"Having funding to support core costs gives us, and our staff members, an incredible feeling of security knowing that we don’t have to worry for the near future and can concentrate on delivering exceptional services for young people.

"Garfield Weston listened to what we needed and are supporting us to grow into the charity we would like to be. Being selected for the £1billionth grant has given us a huge boost in confidence and we are determined to achieve our goal of becoming the main hub for young people in this area, offering a variety of advice and youth services.”

The activities including a girls sports club, a community café as well as providing access to sexual health and mental health support.

Hermione Perry, 15 has been going to the club since she was eleven years old and is now on the youth committee.

She said: “When I first started going to Ourside I was struggling with anxiety, I was very shy and really lacked confidence.

"But everyone welcomed me and they’ve helped me through some tough times. When I was bullied quite badly at school it was really good to have a place to go where I could chat things through and get things off my chest. If I hadn’t had Ourside I would have bottled up my feelings and it would have been so hard.

"Now I'm so much more confident and I have a great group of friends.”