'Life-changing' charity gets £125k lottery funding
BBCA charity supporting young people's mental health in Cornwall has been awarded nearly £125,000 by the National Lottery.
The funding will be delivered over three years to The Pearl Exchange, in Bude, which helps young people build confidence and develop skills.
The charity said the grant would fund overheads and give staff a stable foundation to deliver its expanding workshop programme to 18-35 year olds.
Fliss Loxley, managing director of The Pearl Exchange, said the money would allow "us to dream bigger - to build a sustainable future and widen our reach across Cornwall and Devon".
Founded in 2020 following the death of 19-year-old Pearl Bamford, The Pearl Exchange was created to ensure that no young person in the region feels alone, unsupported or without opportunities to thrive.
The charity said many of the young adults it supported faced poverty, mental ill-health, neurodivergence, trauma or unemployment.
Loxley added the £124,953 grant represented "an extraordinary moment of growth and recognition".
"It gives us the breathing space and stability we need to continue offering free, life-changing opportunities to young adults who often have nowhere else to go," she said.
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