Alcohol misuse by adults and young people currently costs the National Health Service £1.7billion a year. Alcohol-related crime costs £7.3billion per year. Scottish hospitals treated over 40,000 people with alcohol-related conditions last year, an increase of 7% compared with the previous year, but more worryingly, the number under 15's who needed hospital care for problems linked to alcohol rose by almost 10%.

At Mentor UK, the UK's leading drug and alcohol misuse prevention charity working with children and young people, we believe that by promoting healthy attitudes and behaviours with young people as early as possible and within their local communities, we can prevent so many lives being wrecked.

Mentor UK's CHAMP Awards (Promoting Children's Health through Alcohol Misuse Prevention) recognise projects in Scotland, England and Wales that can help prevent youngsters of 14 and under from misusing alcohol – both now and in the future.

We are now launching the 2008 CHAMP Awards and we would welcome entries from projects in the Highlands. In 2008, we will be giving out awards in three categories, each worth £20,000, for projects in schools, community-based projects and young people-led projects.

Activities might include young people putting together their own websites, classroom work in schools, sports or mentoring projects in the community. Anyone can nominate a project which they believe might be eligible.

The closing date for entries for this year's CHAMP Awards is April 20. Application forms and guidance notes on submitting entries are available at www.mentorfoundation.org/uk/awards or write to Mentor UK CHAMP Awards at the address below.

Eric Carlin, Chief Executive, Mentor UK, 74 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3JG, Sent on behalf of Eric Carlin by Shirley-Ann Hickman, Burghead, Morayshire.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---