MORE than £40,000 has been granted to Oldham’s Mahdlo Youth Zone to support its re-opening.

The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust has granted Mahdlo over £41,000 as part of its Youth Centre Recovery Fund to ensure the centre continues to provide a space for young people.

So far this year more than 1,500 young people have attended Mahdlo online and in person.

Julia and Hans Rausing launched the Youth Centre Recovery Fund after seeing the need for support in the sector following the financial impact of the pandemic.

Studies from The National Youth Agency revealed one in two youth charities will be unable to meet operational costs within 12 months.

Mahdlo’s chief executive, Lucy Lees said: “Despite 2020 being such a challenging year we have continued to strive to give Oldham’s young people the best possible start in life.

“Young people and their families have been able to depend on Mahdlo. Despite us being forced to close our doors we’ve found new innovative and engaging ways to support those that needed us most.

“This year we’ll continue to meet the needs of young people and reflecting the diversity of the borough, in Mahdlo, in the community and online.

“As a charity we need to ensure long term financial stability. The grant from Julia and Hans Rausing will support us in our efforts, enabling us to reopen our doors, continue to support young people across the borough and restart essential projects such as our Duke of Edinburgh programme.”