The Olibob Arts Foundation is proud to announce the donation of a £4,500 grant to the Corn Exchange Trust in Newbury to fund youth theatre projects during the academic year 2024-2025.
£3,000 will be used by Corn Exchange to continue to provide Youth Theatre Bursaries (Olibob Bursaries) for local creatives. The picture above is taken from a Youth Theatre production of The Jungle Book, which was supported by the previous grant.
£1,500 will be used to allow Corn Exchange Newbury to increase their work within the community, ensuring a broad range of people from West Berkshire can engage in the area’s vibrant artistic scene and develop their creativity. This funding will specifically be used for a community youth theatre project to an area between Newbury and Tadley. This grant includes the £500 donation we received from the Loddon Valley Lions that we agreed to use to provide local support for young people.
The Olibob Arts Foundation intends to give young people who would not otherwise have the same opportunities, the chance to benefit from skills learnt through the performing arts. The Foundation awards grants to schools, drama groups and clubs to fund performing arts projects, with a particular focus on 11–21-year-olds. The aim is to help young people to develop key life skills, such as social cohesion, role playing, team working, interpersonal skills, and communication skills, through the performing arts. This in turn will help them gain confidence, resilience, and to participate in society as independent, mature, and responsible individuals.
