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Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has donated £10,000 to support two local charities in Jersey that help young people gain access to employment, through work experience, skills development and support youth mental wellbeing.
The first donation of £5,000 was made to Youthful Minds, a group set up by Mind Jersey, to further reinforce the charity’s focus on mental health and wellbeing among the island’s young people. The group of young volunteers are aged between 11- 25 and aim to increase mental health literacy and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. Youthful Minds, alongside RBC employees, helped create wellbeing bags to promote self-care and encourage young people to be more mindful. Based on the principle of the first aid box, the wellbeing bags will give young people access to resources that support mental health and wellbeing.
Charley Clarke, Manager at RBC Wealth Management, said: “We are delighted to support a worthwhile local organisation like Mind Jersey. Young people in Jersey are a big focus for RBC and we are committed to helping the next generation not only through development and career opportunities but also ensuring they have access to resources that support mental health and wellbeing.”
Commenting on the donation, Liz Kendrick-Lodge, Service Development Manager at Mind Jersey, said: “We are incredibly grateful to RBC for their kind donation which has helped our youth participation group, Youthful Minds, in their fight against mental health problems affecting young people. The wellbeing bags are a self-care resource that promote good mental health and offer coping strategies for those experiencing mental health problems. Our vision is of a society that promotes and protects good mental health for all and treats people with experience of mental illness fairly, positively and with respect. We are determined to end the stigma around mental ill health and to improving the mental health of children and young people in Jersey.”
The second donation of £5,000 was made to Beresford Street Kitchen, a social enterprise providing training and employment for young people with learning disabilities and autism. The donation is being used to help fund an apprenticeship for a young person to work at Beresford Street Kitchen. To ensure RBC’s donation was as impactful as possible, 14 employees gave a combined 74 hours to support Beresford Street Kitchen over the weekend at the Dragon Boat racing.
Rupert Hague-Holmes, Director at RBC Wealth Management, said: “We are always proud to support local and invaluable initiatives like Beresford Street Kitchen. The Kitchen provides young people with the opportunity to develop workplace skills and engage with the community in an inclusive, safe and supportive environment. This donation reinforces RBC’s commitment to helping our community to prosper and making a lasting social impact through responsible giving to organisations in the charitable sector.”
Discussing the donation, Gabby Ellmers, Managing Director at Beresford Street Kitchen, said: “We want to say a big thank you to RBC for their donation. At Beresford Street Kitchen we provide both pre-employment work placements, traineeships and apprenticeship schemes. We currently provide training and employment for 45 people with learning disabilities and autism. The crew gain practical experience in a whole range of catering and hospitality operations including customer service skills, barista skills and food preparation plus design, sublimation and vinyl printing techniques in our print workshop. Apprentices will also take part in a number of relevant courses and, where suitable, gain qualifications. This donation helps us to continue placing people with learning disabilities and autism in these apprenticeships.”
