UK: Gay Youth Get Lottery Windfall

The UK's Big Lottery Fund has awarded more than $600K to a Bristol-based gay youth charity to fight homophobic bullying.

A variety of initiatives are planned for the coming years by Bristol-based Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) following a cash award of £391,668 from the Big Lottery Fund. “EACH’s lottery win, in the year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations’ Convention of the Rights of the Child is most welcome,” commented Jonathan Charlesworth, EACH’s executive director and co-author of the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ guidance: Safe to Learn: Homophobic Bullying. “Far too many homophobically bullied gay young people leave our schools with few or poor qualifications, regardless of their actual academic potential,” he said last night. “This initiative strives to build their confidence in the very institutions set up to nurture them. We want to see many more young people thrive: realise their academic and social potential and engage positively in all aspects of life.