The Zone Initiative has received £5,000 to fund outreach youth work for children and young people in Rankinston, East Ayrshire.

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

The Zone Initiative delivers dynamic childcare, youth training and employment services in East Ayrshire. The grant will provide two outreach youth workers to deliver social and recreational activities for children and young people aged 8-18 years old living in the rural area of Rankinston over a 52 week period.

Elaine Stewart, Project Manager at The Zone Initiative said: "We are really delighted that the Santander Foundation has chosen to support youth services within such a rural part of East Ayshire. This will help so many local children and young people, and they are thrilled."

Kerry Hamilton, Branch Director at Santander’s Ayr 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 The Zone Initiative and hope the donation makes a real difference to local young people."

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Note to Editors
In 2015 the Santander Foundation donated £5 million to charities across the UK.


Media Contact
Sarah Webster at Santander                              Tel: 020 7756 5533
Elaine Stewart at The Zone initiative limited      Tel: (01292) 551888 / 551183


About The Zone Initiative Limited

The Zone Initiative Limited offers multifunctional training, support and child care social enterprise. They deliver a range of youth work, training, education, supported employment, work experience, recreational, social activities and out of school care services across the community with the aim of empowering individuals with skills & confidence to improve life chances and opportunities. For more information please visit: www.thezone-online.co.uk


About Santander

The Santander Foundation provides grants to UK registered charities that help disadvantaged people in communities where Santander has a presence. The Community Plus fund provides donations of up to £5,000 to small, local charities nominated by customers, staff and the charities themselves. Our Central Grants programme has grants of up to £10,000 available for education, training and financial capability projects. In 2015, £5 million was donated by the Santander Foundation to charities across the UK. 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 1|2|3 products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. As at 31 December 2015, Santander UK was the most switched to bank, attracting 1 in 4 new retail customers. The bank serves more than 14 million active customers with c. 20,000 employees and operates through 921 branches and 66 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.