9 Feb. 2023:  Blackburn Chemicals has pledged to invest in the next generation by making a donation to the Blackburn & Darwen Youth Zone to deliver enriching, and innovative skills and aspirations support to hundreds of young people a year.

Blackburn with Darwen has one of the highest levels of economic inactivity of all the local authorities, with 2,836 young people aged 16-24 currently not in education, training or employment. Through this donation, the Youth Zone will provide various support packages, including supporting young people with master classes, careers advice, skill building and work/volunteering experiences. All young people will also be given the opportunity to build their skills by completing a range of different accreditations.

In 2022 Blackburn Chemicals Celebrated 50 years in business, supplying to over 60 countries worldwide. They are renowned worldwide for providing high performance Foam Control Agents to a diverse range of industries. They work closely with each and every one of their customers to produce optimised solutions that are tailored to suit their specific requirements. Although they are known worldwide they are committed and passionate about their roots and giving back to the town where they were founded Over the last 12 months the Youth Zone supported 502 different young people with their skills and aspirations and as a result 147 of them now have jobs and 237 completed a training course.

Blackburn Chemicals' donation will support delivering aspirations, skills, and employability
support to young people; and investing in the next generation of the town.

Marcus Saxton, Trustee of Blackburn & Darwen Youth Zone said: “The donation from Blackburn Chemicals will allow us to continue to build on our success of supporting the young people of the borough with their skills and aspirations. This support has never been more needed. Young people were hit the hardest during the coronavirus pandemic and now we are dealing with a cost of living crisis. It has never been more important to invest in young people. With Blackburn Chemicals support we will help to ensure that young people have access to the Youth Zone where they can find their passion, purpose and thrive. We will raise their aspirations, provide them with training and skills and support them as they need.

We truly value our supporters, as their incredible contributions make our work possible. On behalf of the whole Youth Zone team, volunteers, members, and board, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Blackburn Chemicals for its support.”

George Lamb, Chairman of Blackburn Chemicals, said: “We are delighted to share that we have donated funds to support Blackburn & Darwen Youth Zone, which will help contribute to giving thousands of young people the opportunity to discover their talents, develop their skills and reach their full potential.”