May 2013 - Big Society Grant

Big Society Grant Supports Leicestershire Outdoor Education Project for Disabled Adults

Leicestershire based ‘Forever Savvy’ is celebrating receiving a Big Society grant from Leicestershire County Council which means more adults with learning disabilities will be able to sign up to the Community Project which provides further education in a traditional farm setting.

Based in Thurlaston, Forever Savvy, was established in 2011 to help young adults learn new skills for transition into adulthood and ultimately independent living. With the £8,300 Big Society grant funding now in place, the project will be offering more places to local families with respite and relief for parents and carers.

 Young adults who attend, experience a healthy outdoor learning programme including a broad range of life skills such as land management, animal welfare, gardening, basic catering and wood work.

The life-long learning programme aims to improve the emotional health and physical wellbeing of young adults in its care. This in turn helps the family at home, by relieving stress from a number of related health issues and reduces the need for the family to use NHS resources.

Amanda Phelps, founder of Forever Savvy spoke about why this project is so close to her heart:

“Having gone through a very frustrating process of trying to find interesting and stimulating activities for my own son at the age of 18, my husband and I decided we could set up our own project to help him and others like him."

“Many of the opportunities in the area are indoor college based and our own experiences drove us to create a more active programme, something that was generally missing.  We are absolutely thrilled to receive this grant and extend this unique opportunity to other young adults.”   

Blake Pain, Chairman of the Big Society Grant Fund Panel at Leicestershire County Council said: “The Big Society Grant Fund is all about helping the communities of Leicestershire to help themselves. There was a clear need from the community for this type of facility and the expansion of Forever Savvy provides a solution to address this need.

“Supporting the costs involved in expanding Forever Savvy not only fits with the main aims of the Big Society Grant Fund but also with the priorities of Leicestershire County Council around Supporting Leicestershire Families, tackling unhealthy life styles and supporting vulnerable people.”

Forever Savvy is also proud to be supporting national Carers Week from 10th to 16th June 2013, a campaign to improve the lives of carers and the people they care for. Carers Week also aims to raise the profile of the 6.5million known carers in the UK, celebrate their contribution to society and high-light the challenges they face every day.

Forever Savvy is an access point for young adults with learning disabilities to use their Personal Budget, to enhance their skill set towards independence.