Date: 9 May 2008

 

Hartlepool Sea Cadets are celebrating after receiving a funding boost of £5,000, which will allow the organisation to help even more young people from Hartlepool.

 

The grant has been made by the Links Foundation, the charitable trust set up by employment specialist Working Links. The new funds will help the organisation maintain its base at Hartlepool Marina.

 

Established in 1938, Hartlepool Sea Cadets welcomes anyone aged 10 - 18 and works with young people from all around the town, particularly the Dyke House, Brougham and Chester Road areas. The Sea Cadet Corps is the largest voluntary uniformed youth organisation in the UK, providing training and recreation activities based on the customs of the Royal Navy. The Cadets also use a rank structure modelled on that of the Royal Navy, giving young people an opportunity to progress and take up positions of responsibility as they acquire skills and seniority. On reaching the age of 18, many Cadets choose to stay on as adult instructors, when their training and talents become invaluable.

 

Walter Kemp, Chair of the Links Foundation board, said:

“We’re delighted to grant this award to the Hartlepool Sea Cadets. We like to support projects that arise from the drive of local people, doing things that are needed and supported by other local people, and that is what is happening here in Hartlepool.”

 

Eric Priest, Chairman of Hartlepool Sea Cadets Management Board, said:

“Receiving this grant has lifted a great weight off our shoulders. A significant portion of our overheads each year are the running costs associated with our base at the Marina. The award from the Links Foundation means that we’ll be able to keep the base going for the remainder of this year, and probably well into next year too.”

 

The Links Foundation supports a diverse range of community-based projects, all with the common theme of providing facilities and services to improve life for people within the local community. Since 2003 it has distributed more than £1.2 million to initiatives all over the country, in particular, the communities in which Working Links operates.