Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 29/02/2008 16:03

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FRIDAY, MARCH 7TH 1PM, PENZANCE FIRE STATION

Cornwall County Fire Brigade is staging a very special ceremony at Penzance Fire Station at 1pm on Friday, March 7th, to highlight the achievements of a group of young people from Treneere, who will be celebrating the successful completion of their weeklong Supporting Community Values course.

The Supporting Community Values project, funded by the Big Lottery “Reaching Communities Programme”, is aimed at helping to raise the confidence of young people, improve their communication skills and problem solving abilities, and provide them with a sense of achievement, belonging and involvement with their local communities.

The project is being led by the Fire Brigade’s community safety team who have been working with a number of neighbourhood groups in West Cornwall, including Pengegon, Redruth North, Penzance Central and Treneere, to develop a programme to provide support and assistance to young people, parents, carers and local communities.

This aims to:
• Give people a better chance in life, improving life skills through access to training and development
• Build stronger communities, encouraging people to work together to tackle their problems
• Improve rural and urban developments that communities can easily access and enjoy
• Promote healthy living

The project includes mentoring and parenting programmes and an intensive week long course for young people of all ages, focusing on fire fighting and other life skills activities.

“The five day course provides the young people with a range of experiences designed to improve their self confidence and team building skills and stretch them both physically and mentally.” explained Project Manager Graham Warren. “It includes Fire Brigade activities, such as Hose Running, wearing Breathing Apparatus and simulated rescues, together with outdoor activities at the Bishops Forum Centre in Penryn.”

“The final day culminates in a special exercise designed to enable the young people to use the skills they have developed during the week. This involves extinguishing simulated fires and rescuing casualties – all of which is carried out using lots of water and much shouting of orders in front of an audience of their parents and carers – just to add to the challenge!!”

Following the successful completion of the final exercise the young people are presented with Certificates of Achievement and Supporting Community Values caps at a special ceremony. This is attended by Cornwall County Fire Brigade personnel, parents and carers and representatives of the local community.

Young people from Pengegon in Camborne became the first to successfully complete the first Supporting Community Values course in the middle of January this year.

On Friday, March 7th, it will be the turn of a group of 10 students aged 13 – 14 years from Treneere in Penzance, who will be presented with their Certificates of Achievement and SCV caps at the ceremony at Penzance Fire Station by Debbie Simms, Neighbourhood Involvement Officer for the Treneere Together Partnership.

Ken Yeo (Lib Dem), the Council’s Executive Member for Public Protection added: “The presentation ceremony marks the completion of a course by the young people in connection with the community values project.”

“The award from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities Programme will help the Fire Service to expand the work with children and their parents over a sustained period with long term benefits to their communities. The activities will help to raise confidence, improve communication skills and problem solving abilities, providing these young people with a sense of achievement.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Cornwall County Fire Brigade was granted £235,879 from the BIG Lottery Reaching Communities Fund to carry out its Supporting Community Values Project.

The aim of the project is to
Give people a better chance in life, improving life skills through access to training and development
Build stronger communities, encouraging people to work together to tackle their problems
Improve rural and urban developments that communities can easily access and enjoy
Promote healthy living

The Fire Brigade is working with neighbourhood groups in four areas in West Cornwall which have been identified as among the most deprived in the county. These are Treneere in Penzance, Redruth North, Pengegon in Camborne and Penzance Central.

FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM PROJECT MANAGER GRAHAM WARREN ON 01872 323772

Related item: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=41317