With 2015 well underway, and as we are making and following our resolutions for the new year, I would like to ask for your help with an event I am organising later next month. On Saturday 28th February I will be leading a community walk along the coast, from the lighthouse at Dungeness to the Step Short memorial arch in Folkestone; a journey of approximately twenty miles. I will be leading this walk in partnership with the Young Lives Foundation; a Kent based independent charity which is dedicated to improving the support and opportunities available to vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. Their services include mentoring, and engaging young people with positive activities, with the aim of giving them care and support they might have not previously received. The purpose of this support might be to help them rebuild their lives after a traumatic experience, and or to re-engage with education and employment. You can find out more about the Young Lives Foundation through their website www.ylf.org.uk
The community walk from Dungeness to Folkestone is open to all and it would be great if you were able to join us for all or part of the way. All of the sponsorship money that we raise through the walk will be donated to the Young Lives Foundation. We will be starting at 9.30am and finishing as soon as we can. There will be collection points along the route for people who would like to make a donation on the day. You can also support the event online and we will shortly be launching an internet page with details about how you can get involved and make a donation. You can also email me for details at damian.collins.mp@parliament.uk or call me on 01303 253524. I hope that we can make this walk a regular event to raise money for charities in Kent and local good causes.
The House of Commons returned for the New Year on Monday, and on Tuesday I took part in a debate focused on economic growth in coastal towns. This was an excellent opportunity to highlight some of the many success stories we have seen in our area over the last few years. Unemployment has halved since its peak during the recession, and many new businesses have been set up. There has been support from the government and the local councils for this through the East Kent regional growth fund and the Marsh Millions fund. These funds are helping businesses to grow and take on new employees and apprentices. We have also been helped from new infrastructure from high speed rail to the ongoing roll out of high speed broadband. New business incubators like the Workshop in Tontine Street in Folkestone, and the Romney Marsh Business Incubation Unit in New Romney, make it cheaper and easier for new firms to find a good place to work from, when they are getting going. It is my aim to support this continued growth for the local business community throughout 2015.
