Bedlington charity Leading Link looking forward to helping more Northumberland children after acquiring new minibus

Leading Link was formed in 2012 and has worked with thousands of young people, supporting them to understand and achieve their aspirations.

The charity aims to improve the confidence, resilience and drive of young people, regardless of their background or location.

Now an established youth provider in the community, it links families, schools and communities through a variety of projects which are accessible to everyone.

Recently, Leading Links took over the Holiday Activity Provision, a Northumberland County Council project designed to help those struggling financially enjoy subsidised activities out of term time.

Working with the North East Child Poverty Trust, the National Lottery and the Department for Education, the charity organises day visits to local attractions, sport coaching sessions, art and music workshops. The kids are also given a hot lunch.

The new minibus will be used to transport young people and equipment to various locations throughout the North East and has been paid for thanks to a variety of donations, including grants from the Co-op and Northumberland Freemasons.

Lyn Horton, CEO of Leading Link, said: “The amount of young people we and our partner organisations have worked with on Holiday Activity Provision is amazing.

"For example, our winter camps in 18 locations throughout Northumberland included 768 young people and crucially in this economic climate, 3,329 hot meals were served.

“More than 27,000 hours of support have been given during the winter period, with 9,702 meals taken. Having to organise the logistics of this mammoth task with our partners hasn’t been easy, but the new bus will help us to make sure that people and equipment are in the right place at the right time for future activities.”

James Palmer, chairman of Leading Link’s board of trustees, said: “The bus is essential to help the charity in their busy work and I’d like to thank all of the organisations and individuals that have contributed towards it.

"I’d also like to thank the Leading Link team for their hard work and also our delivery partners, who have put a lot into the programme to make it work.”