First students graduate from course funded by PCC’s small grant

The first three students have completed an exciting course funded by Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg’s small grant scheme.

Grow 4 Good, based in the grounds of Dartmoor Zoo, Sparkwell, received a grant of £2,789 from Tony Hogg’s small grant scheme for a new project called Ticket 2 Work which allows 12 people between 16 and 25 to achieve the City and Guilds NPTC level 2 certificate of competence in brushcutting.

Mr Hogg was pleased to be able to support Grow 4 Good’s attempts to steer young people away from a life of re-offending by using horticultural work to reduce social isolation in young people and lead them into lives of crime.

Ticket 2 Work gives participants the opportunity to achieve a recognised qualification and improve their future training and employment chances.

Dave Sharp, head gardener at Grow 4 Good, said: “The participants are young people aged between 16 and 25 who are at risk of social exclusion, who may have already offended or be at risk of re-offending.

“The training is particularly suited to those for whom formal education has not succeeded or had little impact. Many present a high risk of offending due to a lack of opportunity, economic poverty, social isolation and poverty of aspiration.

“The first course has been incredibly well received.

“We put three young people through the training and all passed with flying colours.

“We have another course date set for August, so far so good, and we look forward to helping more young people to achieve where formal education may not have had an impact.”

Tony Hogg, who last week announced that another 24 groups would benefit from £103,000 in round two of the small grant scheme, said: “The projects that round one has funded are starting to show the real value to this sort of scheme.

“We know that in these cases a relatively small amount of money can have a disproportionately large impact on those that benefit as a result.”