My name is Sarah Trainor and I get to help decide who gets a chunk of government money to help fund teenage projects through YouthBank.

I’ve been involved with YouthBank for about a year and a half now and have looked at hundreds of bids applying for money to help teens in my area.

We give out huge amounts of money, which really does benefit all sorts of young people.

The group is made up of some very committed and interesting members, which is part of what makes YouthBank so enjoyable for me. I’ve been able to meet very intelligent teens with strong opinions and we all bounce ideas and comments off each other.

At the moment the group is looking at bids from disabled children for a fund called ‘Aiming high for disabled children’.

We received a letter recently from a mother of one of the children we funded explaining the effect the money had had on her son. It was great to see the work we do really does help.

The skills I have learnt whilst being a part of YouthBank are ones that will help me in many aspects of life.

Not only do we learn how to read and score bids but we talk about how to follow up bids and how to set up and lead meetings.

One of the things I have found most useful is learning how to ring up a bid writer and get extra information to help form a strong idea of the funding they need.

YouthBank is a really great opportunity and I feel sure that the work we do really helps people in our area to have fun but also learn new things.

I hope I am a part of YouthBank for a long time and I’m able to read a lot more bids and most importantly give away lots more money!