Three Ceredigion youngsters have received a cash bursary from West Wales Holiday Cottages to pursue future aspirations.

The Ceredigion Youth Bursary is in its seventh year, with West Wales Holiday Cottages offering up to £1,500.

Since its inception, 18 young people have been supported by the Ceredigion Youth Bursary.

This year, a total of 33 applications were received, ranging from social enterprises to project ideas, community events and training requests.

The successful applications were chosen by Ceredigion Youth Forum (Panel Dewis) who carefully discussed and decided on three winners this year.

Katie Whiteway, aged 14, Esme Drakeley, aged 13 and Lleucu-Haf Thomas, aged 15 all received a bursary to support them reach their personal goals in Sport and Music.

Gwion Bowen, Senior Children and Young People’s Participation Officer at Ceredigion council said: “It is a great opportunity to work collaboratively with a local business. It was brilliant to see the quality and quantity of the applications received. This opportunity is also a good experience for our Youth Forum members who did very well in making some difficult decisions.”

A presentation evening was held in Arad Goch, Aberystwyth on 15 August 2024 to be presented with their cheques and for their achievements to be celebrated.

Also invited to this year’s awards evening were last year’s bursary winners, Katie Jones, Cameron Allen and Ifan Meredith. Thomas Kendall, one of the bursary winners in 2021 also attended the evening and gave a speech about how the bursary enabled him to pursue a career in Occupational Therapy, and subsequently how it supported him to graduate as an Occupational Therapist who was then able to return to live and work in Ceredigion.

Lisa Stopher, Managing Director at West Wales Holiday Cottages said: “West Wales Holiday Cottages is privileged to sponsor the Ceredigion Youth Bursary. We are very proud to celebrate the talent, dedication, and hard work of the young people in our community and provide them with the support they need to achieve their dreams.”

Councillor Wyn Thomas, Cabinet Member for Schools, Lifelong Learning and Skills, added: “Congratulations to all the young people who submitted strong applications for this bursary. It was a pleasure to see the exciting aspirations and innovation of our young people and I’m glad they can be recognised with this fantastic bursary. Good luck to all in the future.”

The bursary will return next year and youngsters are encouraged to apply in 2025.