At the 2018 Swale Business Awards, Sheppey FM 92.2 Community Radio picked up the “Impact in the Community” award for all of the hard work that they undertake for the people of Sheppey. Now, the Charity has once again entered the Swale Business Awards hoping to repeat last year’s success.
“We noticed a huge demand for training and voluntary opportunities for local people that are physically or mentally disadvantaged and feeling socially isolated,” Julie Nicholls, Project Manager at Sheppey FM explained. “The priority ethos of Sheppey FM is to support all people from all walks of life and help them to achieve their personal goals. We are the only radio station in Kent to focus on helping those less fortunate or socially excluded. The station successfully delivers Media training courses, focusing on those with special needs but not excluding young people from mainstream schooling, and over the last 5 years we have successfully provided training courses to well over 1,000 young people.”
Since winning the award last year, Sheppey FM has been spearheading an Environmental Awareness project called WOW (War on Waste), to tackle the local issues of environmental pollution. Although this is a global issue, they are approaching it at grass-roots level. The outcomes of this project have included Oasis Academy sending students to train at Sheppey FM and the school has now introduced the WOW project into their curriculum and is being recognised as an Eco-Friendly School. Another significant outcome has been the setup of #plasticfree Sheerness by one of their volunteers.
Julie concluded her application by saying: “It is difficult to describe Sheppey FM in a nutshell as we are so different to the majority of other radio stations. Our objectives are to include people of all ages and abilities, from all walks of life within our community station and give them the equality to access voluntary involvement, work experience placements and training opportunities. Social gain for our community is our primary objective and is what we feel most passionate about. With our WOW Project we are changing attitudes at grass-roots level. We find that music reaches everyone on an intimate level, no matter their age, it arouses memories, and even the most vulnerable and troubled people find themselves having fun, feeling relaxed and enjoying the experience and inclusion of being a part of our friendly and supportive team. We have been told that we are a ‘sanctuary’ for some, and a ‘salvation’ for others.”
Sheppey Community Media Centre
The Pavilion
Sheerness
Kent
ME12 1AY
01795 664499
www.sheppeyfm.org.uk