Barker-Mill Foundation works with local charity to support young people in Hampshire

Winchester based charity, Fixers, has been given a helping hand by the Barker-Mill Foundation (BMF) in the form of a donation of £13,335.

This will fund three unique young people’s Fixer projects and provide 21 young people with the opportunity to become a Fixer, tackling the issues that matter the most to them. How they choose to do this is up to them, there is just one condition – their ‘Fix’ must benefit at least one other person.

Tim Jobling, trustee at the Barker-Mill Foundation, said: “Fixers truly deserve this funding as the work they do is really benefitting the young people of today.

“The young are the future, and it’s a great opportunity for them to gain many transferable skills that will help them in future employment, whilst also reaching out to others who may need some guidance. It’s encouraging to see young people tackling hard hitting issues. The passion behind their projects is evident.”

Each Fixer project costs £4,445, covering all aspects of the project from recruitment and mentoring to communications support and the young person’s audience engagement. There is a strong focus on digital, print and broadcast media to ensure the message behind the Fixers project is heard as far and wide as possible. Becoming a Fixer allows the issues behind this message to be tackled and fixed.

For example, one young Southampton resident once involved in crime, drink and drugs worked with Fixers to create a hard-hitting drama which encourages other young people to turn their lives around. They are now employed by the youth offending team in Southampton to get young people off the streets, out of crime and off drugs.

Jeneen Thomsen Fixers Corporate Partnership Lead says: “We’re really pleased the Barker- Mill Foundation has come on board to help Fixers and those involved carry on the great work we do here in the South. We’ve seen so many young people do incredible things with their projects and we just want to carry on being able to deliver the great work we do. It’s a generous donation that’ll really benefit many young people in Hampshire”

There are currently 16,306 Fixers working on multiple projects across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland helping thousands of young people from all over the UK.