Dorset-based Heidi, who is a member of the Rotaract e-Cub of Great Britain & Ireland, was the first recipient of a scholarship from The Burns Price Foundation.
They are a small charity making a big difference in the lives of young people and their communities.
Inspired by Peter and Dee Price, after a lifetime of peace building, it was launched in 2015.
Volunteers packing bags for homeless
Peter Price was Chair of the Foundation from 2015-2020. He is the former Bishop of Bath and Wells and continues working in peace building as well as being an Assistant Bishop.
Dee Price (nee Burns) is a former teacher, lecturer in Nursery Education and local patron of Save the Children Fund.
Dee was awarded the MBE for her services to charity.
Today she volunteers in the local community in Croydon where she and Peter live. Peter and Dee continue to be active Trustees of the Foundation.
The Foundation promotes good citizenship amongst young people and enables them to contribute positively through local projects.
What makes this foundation unique is that the initiative comes from young people aged 11-18, who are able to apply for grants of up to £5,000.
Hundreds of young people have already benefitted from the Foundation. Projects tend to range in duration from two weeks to a year and may, for example, relate to:
- Restorative justice and peace making
- Supporting issues around mental health and loneliness
- Tackling homelessness and poverty
- Combatting gang and knife crime
- Building community across generations and ethnicities
- Challenging bullying
- Addressing climate change and environmental issues
- Promoting healthy eating and living
- Becoming creative with music, art, or sport
- Developing leadership and mentoring
Heidi was The Burns Price Foundation’s first award recipient. After volunteering in this country and abroad, Heidi has gone on to study for a degree in International Development at the University of Sussex.
She was the Foundation’s first young ambassador and today she serves as a trustee.
Volunteers at Salisbury Community Garden
Where there are clearly areas of common purpose, the Foundation works in partnership with other organisations, including Rotary, PeaceJam, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and Africa Youth Arise.
Projects range widely in size and scope across the UK.
For example, in Dorset a group of children undertook a ‘litter-pick’ to improve the environment along their local Jurassic coast while in Belfast an arts project brought together young people from Roman Catholic, Protestant and ethnic minority communities.
In Salisbury young people have created a community garden as part of the city’s regeneration and in Glasgow a small group has undertaken a programme of mentor training to be able to work with their contemporaries.
For more information visit the Burns Price Foundation website .
