The Small Projects funding stream allow the Appeal to reach children, young people and families across the whole of Scotland through over 850 funded projects and play an integral role in helping us achieve our strategic aims.
The types of activities funded as part of the Small Projects stream are not necessarily attempting to prove the concept in a new way of working or to innovate a new type of service or programme, but they are extremely effective and play an important role in relieving the harsh reality many young people face on a daily basis.
The STV Children’s Appeal portfolio includes projects which cover most challenges facing children and young people today. These include mental health issues, additional support needs, homelessness, social isolation, material poverty and the impact of ACEs to name but a few. These are entrenched social injustices which are highly resistant to change, with many of our Large Projects working to develop scalable and sustainable solutions which tackle their resulting inequalities across numerous communities in Scotland. The Small Projects therefore offer a glimmer of relief and triumph in their ability to harness everyday positivity and vibrancy even when dealing with sombre and traumatic themes.
This has never been truer than during the COVID-19 lockdown where local, grassroots projects were often a lifeline to many families in Scotland. Delivering food, medicine and activity packs, our Small Projects were able to help families mitigate the impact of shielding, social distancing and in many cases, furlough, and redundancies.
Many of the families being supported by our Small Projects struggle financially and COVID-19 has exacerbated many of the challenges they were already facing. For others, it has led to new challenges and a time of fear and distress. Our Small Projects have been able to provide services which tackled disadvantage that existed before COVID-19, those which have emerged during lockdown and have made themselves as visible and accessible as possible for families and communities newly in need.
Our Small Projects have been able to provide services which tackled disadvantage that existed before COVID-19… They were able to help families mitigate the impact of shielding, social distancing and in many cases, furlough, and redundancies.