John Lewis donates £100,000 to Youth Zone Darwen

By Tim Aldred

24 Nov 2022

john-lewis-youth-zone-darwen.jpg

The John Lewis Foundation Trust has donated £100,000 to Youth Zone Darwen to help improve the employment prospects of young people in the town.

The funding will be used to extend the Youth Zone’s dedicated Employment Team who will work with businesses, including Youth Zone Darwen Patrons, to identify opportunities for youngsters  and to ensure they have the right skills.

Youth Zone was encouraged to apply for the funding by Herbert Parkinson, the Darwen-based company which has supplied textile products such as soft furnishings, duvets and made-to-measure curtains to John Lewis since 1953.

Stuart McDonald, partner and head of Herbert Parkinson, said: "We were approached by Youth Zone Darwen to become patrons and, after hearing about the valuable work they are doing there, we encouraged them to apply to the John Lewis Foundation for funding.

"We know that this donation will be put to really good use, supporting young people in the town into jobs."

Wayne Wild, trustee at Youth Zone Darwen and chair of the Darwen Town Deal, said: "We are absolutely blown away by the generosity of John Lewis in awarding Youth Zone Darwen £100,000.

"This is going to make a huge difference to the lives of young people in Darwen through the Blackburn and Darwen Youth Zone Employability Scheme.

"Being able to apply for funding like this has only been made possible through the support of our patrons including Herbert Parkinson, who, in under a year, helped us smash the original fundraising target of £250,000. Their support really has been invaluable and will continue to be so."

The Youth Zone provision launched in Darwen during the pandemic but was only ever supposed to be temporary.

However, due to the demand for services, the fundraising drive was launched to make it permanent with extended opening hours to ensure no youngster was turned away.

Hannah Allen, CEO of Youth Zone Blackburn and Darwen, said: "We couldn’t quite believe it when we received the email to say that we were being awarded £100,000 from John Lewis & Partners – it is the largest, single business donation we have ever received.

"The funding will allow us to extend the fantastic services already being supported by our 11 patrons and Blackburn with Darwen Council. These services are changing lives in the town.

"The focus of this new funding will be on creating new jobs for our youngsters through our Employability Team – helping give them the very best start to their working lives and inspiring them to fulfil their potential."

Enjoyed this? Read more from Tim Aldred

Latest news

1

Construction begins on new Civil Service office building in Talbot Gateway Alan McBride Muse Will Town Defence Infrastructure Organisation Jennifer Chard Defence Business Services Cllr Lynn Williams Blackpool Council Garry Bowker Vinci

Construction begins on new Civil Service office building in Talbot Gateway

20 May 2025

2

Skiddle raises over £750,000 for charities Skiddle cheque presentation to Alder Hey Hospital

Skiddle raises over £750,000 for charities

20 May 2025

3

Former Victorian Hotel approved for residential conversion The site

Former Victorian Hotel approved for residential conversion

19 May 2025

4

REVOLUTION PARK: Work starts on Darwen’s new home of advanced manufacturing Oliver Webber, Tracy Clavell-Bate and Tim Webber from Barnfield Group with Cllr Phil Riley, second from right, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council

REVOLUTION PARK: Work starts on Darwen’s new home of advanced manufacturing

19 May 2025

5

Two Cuckoo Gins named winners in The Gin Guide Awards 2025 Mark Long

Two Cuckoo Gins named winners in The Gin Guide Awards 2025

19 May 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
LBV122 May/June Launch Event
121 Lancashire Business View Magazine Launch
Networking
21 May 2025

LBV122 May/June Launch Event

Lancaster and Morecambe College, Lancaster, LA1 2TY

08:30 - 10:30

Sub36 Networking
Networking
11 Jun 2025

Sub36 Networking

British Jewellery School, Scorton, PR3 1BA

15:00 - 17:00

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference
Net Zero Carbon Social 1200pxtrident 2
Networking
18 Jun 2025

Lancashire Net Zero Carbon Conference

Crow Wood Hotel & Spa Resort, Burnley, BB12 0RT

08:30 - 13:00

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers
WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion copy.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
02 Apr 2025 - 08 Oct 2025

RISE - The Academy for Female Leaders and Managers

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:00 - 15:30

Amber River True Bearing quarterly investment seminar
LBV Hub Seminars
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

Amber River True Bearing quarterly investment seminar

Cottons Hotel & Spa , Knutsford, WA16 0SU

16:00 - 18:00

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Hub Networking
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Mytton Fold, Langho, BB6 8AB

11:30 - 14:15

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: May
Freelancer Meet-Up May.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
22 May 2025 - 22 May 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: May

society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

Liverpool Business Expo 2025
https---cdn.evbuc.com-images-881365363-4862066883-1-original.20241023-085714.jpeg.jpg
LBV Hub Awards
23 May 2025 - 23 May 2025

Liverpool Business Expo 2025

Aintree Racecourse , Liverpool , L9 5AS

09:00 - 15:00

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 29
Artboard 15.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
29 May 2025 - 29 May 2025

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – May 29

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Manchester Road, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 11:00

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin