Anti Racist Cumbria have been awarded £150,000 funding from Paul Hamlyn Foundation (PHF).

The charity looks to make Cumbria an actively anti racist county through action and education.

The funding from PHF will be split over three years and will enable the charity to appoint a new employee to enrich its work in communities.

The decision comes after a stringent five-month application process.

Jane Tanner, Grant Manager of Paul Hamlyn Foundation explained the reasons Anti Racist Cumbria were successful saying: “At PHF we use our resources to support social change, working towards a just and equitable society in which everyone, especially young people, can realise their full potential and enjoy fulfilling and creative lives.

“Through the Youth Fund, we seek to work with organisations that put young people at the centre in terms of power, voice and agency – as part of an asset-based approach, starting with recognising and building on young people’s strengths and potential.

“ARC’s impact with and for young people stands out because it ensures their identities are celebrated and belonging and inclusion is at the heart of everything they do.

“The challenges of building anti-racist community is not to be underestimated. The creativity and courage that ARC brings to the work is inspiring; thoughtful and a force primed to bring communities together to thrive and prosper.”

The PHF was founded by Paul Hamlyn in 1987 for general charitable purposes and continues after his death in 2001.

Paul Hamlyn was born Paul Hamburger in Berlin, Germany and came to the UK in 1933 to escape the Nazi persecution of the Jewish population where he started selling books in 1949 going on to be considered one of the leading publishers of 20th Century.

Janett Walker CEO & Co-Founder of Anti Racist Cumbria said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this funding from such a prestigious funder, it’s a real testament to our ethos and the quality of our work that national funders are supporting what we’re doing up here in Cumbria.

“I thank them for believing in our approach, our volunteers and staff for making it a reality and Cumbria for getting behind anti-racism.

“This funding is perfectly timed to enable us to step up to the next phase of our plan for an anti-racist county and to begin working in earnest with Cumbria’s young people, and subsequently all generations in our towns and rural communities.

“In places where there are little or no Black, Brown or racially minoritised people anti-racism can feel irrelevant, but in turbulent times such as we are facing that apathy can become a breeding ground for division.

“Thankfully anti-racism works regardless of the ethnic make-up of a space and we are really looking forward to getting out across Cumbria and supporting all our communities to understand and embrace anti-racism in ways that work for them.”

This successful grant marks the second of the year and the charity’s Chair of Trustees Niall McNulty said: “This funding represents a huge investment from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in working towards an anti-racist Cumbria.

“As a board we are proud of the work that the ARC team have been doing and this award enables us to expand that team and extend the reach of our organisation.

“We continue on the path to make a positive difference for Cumbria and the support from national organisations like the Paul Hamlyn trust goes a long way in recognising that we are heading in the right direction.”

Anti Racist Cumbria has many projects on the go from their short animated film to organising the Anti Racist Cumbria Summit.

The Summit will take place at the Brewery Arts, Kendal on Thursday November 10 with Nova Reid delivering the keynote speech.

Tickets and more information about Anti Racist Cumbria is available on their website.