Vote for a boat

THE Youthful Venturer Narrowboat Project (YVNP) encourages children and young people to take part in educational day trips and overnight residential opportunities on the canal network aboard a purpose built 70ft narrowboat.

The Midlands based YVNP helps young people escape the city environment and experience the outdoors in a fun and stimulating way, whilst learning about the importance of teamwork and developing life skills.

Refit a narrowboat

The YVNP are seeking to purchase and refit a 70ft narrowboat, to include youth friendly facilities, be equipped for teaching and residential use. It is anticipated that the boat will be environmentally friendly using solar panels and hopefully even a hybrid engine.

The project is already a finalist in the lottery funded Peoples Millions and will feature on ITV Central Six o'clock News on 25th November. Campaign organiser, Steve Green, is asking boaters to support it via a phone-in vote. For those not in the ITV Central region you can still vote any time between 9am and midnight on the 25th with the telephone number being given out the day here.

Volunteered

Our Political Journalist, Allan Richards, who has volunteered on a similar project for many years, comments:

"There are several 'youth community boats' on our waterways and my involvement over many years has been with one that specialises (if that's the word) in disadvantaged children.

"I firmly believe that projects such as YVNP work well on so many levels and are complementary to the youth work that is already carried out by both the Inland Waterways Association and Canal & River Trust.

Perhaps it is also something that the West Midlands Waterways Partnership should be promoting heavily as benefiting the wider community. I can only think that they were not aware of it. From my own experience, I know that such projects can change young lives for the better and I will certainly be supporting this project with my vote."