A budding entrepreneur has been given a £4,000 in grant funding to start her own business
Lisa Everson, 22, from Caerphilly, has set up a dance project called Do Your Thing (DYT) which provides young people living locally, who have a passion to dance, with the classes and space required, despite gender, background, ability or race.
She was given the money by The Fairwood Trust and UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs.
The Fairwood Trust Future Leaders Awards was established last year to help young people in South Wales realise their entrepreneurial dreams.
The scheme offers funding Awards of up to £5,000 to individuals to cover the initial setting up costs of the business, personalised training and mentoring.
Lisa said: “The Fairwood Trust Future Leaders Award has created some fantastic opportunities for the group over the year.
“Entering dance competitions is very expensive and as part of DYT we want to make them accessible to everyone and give those that might not usually have the opportunity a chance to shine.
“Since receiving our funding we’ve travelled around the UK entering numerous national dance competitions, met celebrities, won awards and been crowned Welsh Champion Dancers. We have even auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent.
“The award has enabled the company to grow so much and has given me something to focus on and feel passionate about. It really has changed my life.”
Fellow Caerphilly resident Bryony Gurmin, 25, also received £1,752 to help in her effort to establish her personal training company FitSmart.
Fairwood Trust director Charles Middleton said: “The partnership with UnLtd has been very exciting. It sums up everything that The Fairwood Trust stands for.
“I’ve had the privilege to meet the award winners, both at the beginning of the process and now, and it is amazing to see the difference in them. They are more confident. You can see how proud they are of what they have achieved and the excitement of what lies ahead.”
UnLtd, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, was set up in 2001 by seven leading organisations such as Comic Relief and Ashoka to promote social entrepreneurship to individuals wanting to make a positive impact on their local communities.
The next round of applications for the Future Leaders Awards are now open and young people living in South Wales aged 18 to 30 can find out more by visiting www.liveunltd.com/fairwoodtrust or contacting the UnLtd Wales office on 029 2048 4811.