The Go Kids Go project was conceived in 2012 with the ambition of encouraging children and young people to adopt a more active lifestyle – both in terms of social activity and physical activity.
The project also aims to encourage interaction of young people with the society at large, developing interpersonal skills and presenting opportunities to make a contribution to our society in general.
In today’s world, the freedom to enjoy more casual groupings on streets and in parks etc has become severely restricted. This has been greatly exacerbated, in the last 18 months, by the global pandemic which has changed the way we all interact as a society.
So how could we in the Lions club help? Clearly not directly, because we do not have the contacts, the qualifications or the expertise to provide the right kind of outlet for our young people in this way.
BUT, what we are good at is raising money. It’s what we do! We are able toraise money to support clubs and organisations which in turn help and encourage our youngsters to engage in activities, in teams and with each other.
Our Local newspaper, the Mercury, was enthused and backed us with publicity, administration and sponsorship in the years since the project began.
We asked local businesses to help and they, in turn, saw the benefits of this project. Annually, since 2012 we have raised around £10,000 to £12,000 and all monies received have always been awarded in full as grants.
We ask organisations that help young people in either sport or community endeavors or theatre groups or, indeed any thing which promotes activity and social interaction in the youngto apply to usfor a grant to further their work.
We generally attract between 40 and 60 applications each year. A judging panel,drawn from our sponsors, then decides on the relative merits of each application and award a grant.
Rather than just send a cheque we ask the groups to attend a presentation where the cheques are given (the amounts are not given out publicly). In this way the groups get to know one another, the Mercury gets good copy, the project gets good publicity and it’s a lovely occasion, as you can see from the photographs that have featured in the paper over the years!
The 2021 Go Kids Go launched on 1st September, and applications close on 30th September. For your chance to apply for a grant this year, please follow the link on this web page. Good luck!
2019
This year our sponsors are, in no particular order: Nightingales removals,the Grand Pier, the Howard group of garages, McDonalds franchisees, Trevor Smith flooring, A-Squared Technologies, Mead Realisations, property developers, The Mercury and Weston-super-Mare Lions club.
This year we had 44 applications of which 32 were successful
| Club | What for (in brief) | Amount |
| Priory Pumas | kits and equipment | £250 |
| Weston Swimming Club | Equipment | £200 |
| Ashcombe Scouts | Cooking equipment | £125 |
| Air Training Corps Squadron | Cooking equipment | £125 |
| Winscombe Cricket | Equipment | £250 |
| Boxer Tots | Equipment | £150 |
| All Stars Dance | Gym mats | £400 |
| Vogue Twirlers | PomPoms | £200 |
| Our Way Our Say | Activities | £500 |
| Locking Park Juniors (U13s?) | Goals | £500 |
| 1st Ashcombe Cubs | tents | £250 |
| 1st North Worle Scouts | Flooring for hall | £500 |
| Weston Sea Cadets | Musical instrument | £180 |
| Weston Rugby Club | Equipment | £200 |
| Locking Brownies | residential weekends | £250 |
| Super Nova | Gym mats | £400 |
| Weston Aerobic | safety mats | £400 |
| St Nicholas Preschool | outdoor flooring | £500 |
| 1st Ashcombe Beavers | day walks and equipment | £125 |
| Weston Festival of Drama | event costs | £200 |
| Weston Tennis club | Equipment | £250 |
| 1st Milton Scouts | pioneering poles | £125 |
| Hutton Primary School | play equipment | £1,000 |
| Play Wild! | outdoor forest skills | £220 |
| Priory Juniors FC | equipment | £250 |
| Flying High Performing Arts | Equipment | £600 |
| Netball Club | Equipment | £250 |
| Locking Park FC (U11s) | Equipment | £250 |
| Boost rebound trampoline | Equipment for disabled children | £600 |
| Kewstoke School | Equpment | £250 |
| Hornets Rugby Club | Equipment | £250 |
| St Paul’s School Worlebury | Equipment | £250 |