A charity in Barrow says it is ‘amazing news’ they will receive over £600,000 in government funding to help more young people across Furness.

DropZone which is based on Abbey Road in Barrow has been allocated £607,636 from the youth investment fund.

The charity supports young people across the borough through extended educational provision for young people who struggle to engage in mainstream education. It also provides support for LGBTQ+ groups and provides free activities for young people from the age of eight.

Project manager at DropZone, Cath Corkhill, said: “The youth investment fund is all about increasing our capacity in delivering youth work, part of the money is for developing our projects so we can engage more young people which is brilliant. The other part of the money is to make our building a one-stop shop for young people across Furness.

“The third sector doesn’t normally get big pots of long-term money, when we moved in to the building two years ago our vision was that it would be a one stop shop for young people so this money will help us achieve that.

“Then hopefully it will be here for a very long time so the next generation can utilise it and get some positive experiences out of it.”

MP for Barrow and Furness, Simon Fell praised the organisation and said the charity ‘punch above their weight’ in raising aspirations across Furness.

Mr Fell said: “I’m absolutely delighted that DropZone have been awarded £607,636 from the Government’s Youth Investment Fund to renovate their premises. This will allow them to support an additional 97 young people every year.

“Late last year I hosted Cath from DropZone at Number 10 as a thank you for the tireless work she puts in, helping young people across Furness. DropZone provides after school clubs, support for those young people out of mainstream school, mental health sessions, community support, skills , knowledge growth, and much much more.

“They are a brilliant organisation and punch far above their weight in raising the aspirations and achievements of young people across Furness. I very much hope that this funding will help them to expand their impact even further.”

The youth investment fund has allocated more than £90 million in funding nationally to refurbish and open new youth centres.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: “I want to see every young person have someone to talk to, something to do, and somewhere to go outside of the classroom, no matter where they are from, to help maximise their potential in life.

“This next round of funding from the Youth Investment Fund will help nearly 20,000 more young people achieve this goal.”