Young Person of the Year Awards in jeopardy (From Southend Standard)

Young Person of the Year Awards in Jeopardy

3:00pm Monday 22nd October 2012 in News

THE YOUNG people of the Year Awards has been put in jeopardy because of delays in funding.

The charity which runs the awards, called YOPEY, hands out cash prizes to young role models every year.

They usually gets at least £10,000 cash each year from the Essex Police Authority.

But this year they have had to apply to the Essex Community Foundation and have been waiting since May to find out whether they will get any cash.

Tony Gearing, YOPEY founder, said the charity’s work this year would now be “dead in the water.”

He said: “This month I receive a letter from the foundation that I would describe as very evasive. It does not say whether or not our application has been considered by the foundation's trustees, but I would assume not from its complicated tone.

"The letter pleads poverty ­ yet the foundation is worth over £4million ­ and says it might 'potentially' give us about £2,000.”

He said although even £2,000 cash won’t enable the charity to go ahead with its work.

An Essex Police Authority spokesman said. “Due to the financial pressures currently facing the police force and the need to find annual recurring savings of £42.2m a year by 2014/15, it is no longer possible for the Police Authority to continue to fund the awards.”

They said they had committed £31,350 from the Police Property Act Fund to an endowment fund held by the Essex Community Foundation (ECF).

A spokeswoman for Essex Community Foundation said they only have a limited amount of cash and any they dish out must be used within a year.

This means YOPEY must show they can make up the shortfall via other means, before they can hand out any funding.

She added: “We would be happy to talk with them again. We certainly support what YOPEY does in recognising young people.”

She urged other organisations to come forward with funding to help YOPEY continue.