Three anonymous women have donated more than £60,000 to an ‘exciting’ youth fund which they believe can ‘really make an impact’ in Suffolk.

East Anglian Daily Times: Children involved with Green Light Trust playing at bushcraft. The charity will be one of several which will benefit from the anonymous donation. Picture: GREEN LIGHT TRUSTChildren involved with Green Light Trust playing at bushcraft. The charity will be one of several which will benefit from the anonymous donation. Picture: GREEN LIGHT TRUST (Image: Archant)

The three women who insist on remaining entirely anonymous, each wanted to share their passion for supporting Suffolk Young People, a new fund which aims to support the fresh wave of life-changing work with young people in Suffolk.

Their latest gift totalling over £63,000 has inspired further donations, including £30,000 from Suffolk's Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore and a further £7,000 from other Foundation private donors - provided a total funding boost of £100,000 to support the ground-breaking 'Vision and Voice' collaboration between key local young people's charities.

The Suffolk women, who already have years of volunteering under their belts, said: "It is simple. Young people are our future.

"They deserve a safe and strong environment within which to learn, flourish and have the support to be able to manage what challenges they are facing.

"I strongly believe all children and young people should have equal opportunities no matter what their background, colour, race, religion or where they might live.'

"The idea of banding together with other private individuals and public funding to enable a new project to get off the ground really appealed to me and facilitating a group of charities to work together on a project that can really make an impact is very exciting to us."

Green Light Trust, Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE), Access Community Trust (ACT), The Mix and Volunteering Matters are the charities set to benefit from this collaborative donation.

Andrea Pittock, Head of Grant Programmes at Suffolk Community Foundation said: "Each charity has a unique offering and bringing these together means that there will be better communication and a joined-up approach to support young people.

The evaluation of this project will also provide excellent insight into future projects."

Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: "As soon as I heard from the Foundation that these three generous Suffolk women were as passionate about this project as I am, we were able to combine our efforts and get this vital project up and running."

Tom Brown, CEO of Green Light Trust said: "Green Light Trust as the lead partner will be engaging young people in our woodland teaching the concept of knives as tools not weapons, and will be delivering supportive first aid courses.

"ISCRE will be working with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic young people, and the police, to improve relationships and trust.

"ACT will offer peer support, community resilience and an element of social prescribing. The Mix will provide a coaching programme exploring the dangers of gangs, county lines and knife crime.

"Volunteering Matters will be creating a youth social action programme to educate around issues such as grooming and domestic abuse."

For anyone interested in getting involved in delivering funds please contact Judy Dow at Suffolk Community Foundation on 01473 602602 or visit here.