Sellafield and supply chain raise £162,500 for Cumberland care-experienced young people's fund

Sellafield Ltd and its supply chain partners have raised £162,500 for Cumberland Council's Enrichment Fund, which pays for training, wellbeing and employment support for care-experienced young people aged 16 and over.

Sellafield's Programme and Project Partners (PPP), made up of KBR, Amentum, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure and Altrad Babcock, contributed £50,000 and Sellafield Ltd matched the donation, the company said in an announcement on 15 October.

A further 12 supply chain firms added to the total. They include Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick, Careys, NG Bailey, Sir Robert McAlpine and William Hare Ltd, alongside Alpha Engineering Ltd, DSD Construction, G&A M Lawson, The Halcyon Club, Solomons Europe, March and William King Construction.

Steve Harnwell, Sellafield Ltd interim projects director, said: "The stories we heard at last year's Rising As Me event stayed with us. We knew we wanted to help."

How the fund works

The fund is managed by Cumbria Youth Alliance (CYA) and, according to Sellafield Ltd, young people can use it to pay for professional courses, work-related costs such as clothing for interviews, gym memberships and creative activities.

CYA says the money can be spent on health and wellbeing, education and training, employment support, and engagement in arts and culture. Applications are decided by a panel of care-experienced young people, which currently meets every two weeks. CYA is still accepting donations through a JustGiving page.

Sellafield Ltd said the fundraising campaign was inspired by the Rising As Me event, hosted by Cumberland Council and CYA, where care-experienced young people spoke about their experiences and the difference targeted support can make.

After that event PPP committed to funding one year of the Enrichment Fund. Sellafield Ltd said that target has now been exceeded and the combined support from the company, PPP and the wider supply chain has secured enough funding for more than three years.

Emma Williamson, Deputy Leader of Cumberland Council and Executive Member for Children and Family Wellbeing and Housing, said: "This is about more than funding. It shows young people that their ambitions matter and that their community believes in them."

Background

The Enrichment Fund was launched at the first Stars of Tomorrow Ball at Energus in Workington on 6 September 2024, according to Cumberland Council. The black tie event was hosted by the council, CYA and Inspira, and the council said at the time that a panel of young people with care experience would determine how the fund is spent.

Sellafield Ltd was Platinum Sponsor of that launch ball and PPP was a Silver Sponsor, the council said.

PPP was set up when Sellafield Ltd awarded a 20-year contract to four organisations in May 2019 to deliver major projects supporting the site's 100-year decommissioning programme. At the award, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure was named civils construction management partner and Doosan Babcock Ltd process construction management partner.

In a blog on the partnership, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said it had created more than £180m in social value to date, including £139m spent with local suppliers and £44m with small businesses, and had delivered more than 19,500 volunteering hours. Around 1,300 people work across its projects, 57% of them from the local Cumbria and Warrington areas.

The £162,500 raised will now be distributed through CYA's fortnightly youth-led panel to care-experienced young people in Cumberland aged 16 and over.