Activ8 Learning has received £4,750 to fund cycle maintenance workshops for disadvantaged 16-19 year-olds in York to learn new skills and improve their employability.

The donation was provided by the Santander Foundation, which offers Discovery Grants to UK registered charities for projects that help disadvantaged people in local communities.

Activ8 Learning helps disadvantaged people reach their full potential through improving their employment and promotion prospects. The organisation also works with local unemployed people to help them build the required skills for suitable work.

The grant will enable Activ8 Learning to deliver cycle maintenance workshops to help local teenagers improve their practical skills and experience by learning how to fix and setup their own bicycles. The workshops aim is to give the youngsters the confidence and encouragement to progress onto an accredited course in bike maintenance.

Michaela Shaw, Centre Manager at Activ8 Learning said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the younger generation in York to engage in a programme that will teach them a practical skill. The workshops could help them develop a career and progress onto an apprenticeship or even gain skills on how to set up their own business and show them what is involved.”

Beverley Learmonth, Branch Manager at Santander’s York branch said: “The Santander Foundation makes hundreds of donations every year to good causes throughout the UK. Our branch is committed to playing a key part in the community and we are delighted to be supporting Activ8 Learning and hope the donation makes a real difference to local young people.”

- Ends -

Notes to Editors:

Media Contact
Stephanie Harris at Santander      Tel: 020 7756 4221      M: 07841 506 668     
E: stephanie.harris@santander.co.uk

Michaela Shaw at Activ8 Learning Tel: 01904 693111

About Activ8 Learning

Activ8 Learning works hard to successfully help individuals to improve their employment and promotion prospects by delivering fully funded courses where recipients are eligible. We also work with the unemployed to help them build the skills needed to gain suitable employment. We cover the whole of North Yorkshire from our office in York, specialising in the more rural areas where learners find it difficult to access learning and development resources due to isolation and lack of suitable transport. We deliver tailor made courses to individual organisations in the work place or suitable venues in areas where we are needed. We deliver to adult learners of all ages and abilities (from 16 years onwards, the oldest we have delivered to was 82). 

Santander Foundation
The Santander Foundation is at the heart of the Bank’s community activities, providing grants to small charities and social enterprises working with disadvantaged people to fund skills, knowledge and innovation projects across the UK. Discovery Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support three types of activity:

  • Explorer: improving people’s knowledge
  • Transformer: supporting skills and experience
  • Changemaker: innovative solutions to social challenges

Over the last five years, the Santander Foundation has provided £25 million in funding to 12,600 UK charities and in 2016 a further £5 million will be available through Discovery Grants and Staff Matched Donations. For more information please visit: www.santanderfoundation.org.uk

Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 31 December 2016, the bank serves around 14 million active customers with c20,000 employees and operates through 841 branches (which includes 60 university branches) and 67 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.

About Us
Banco Santander
(SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, headquartered in Spain, with a meaningful market share in 10 core countries in Europe and the Americas. It is among the world’s top banks by market capitalization. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper, in a way that is simple, personal and fair. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1.52 trillion in managed funds, 125 million customers, 12,200 branches and 188,000 employees at the close of 2016. Santander made attributable profit of EUR 6,204 million in 2016, an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.