A charity, which awarded £10,000 to a Blackburn teenager, is calling for entries to its annual Bright Future Prize.

The prize offers £40,000 to young people who dream of making a difference to the community and world around them. The Bright Future Prize gives young people aged 13 to 19 the chance to turn their ideas to make a difference into reality. 

The prize, now in its third year, is hosted by ACT, the charity arm of The Ardonagh Group. 

The Bright Future Prize has already given more than £60,000 to young people around the world, whose winning ideas have ranged from designs for a recyclable wind turbine, a video game to support teenagers’ mental health, and creating a community hub to support autistic young people.

Muhammad Karbhari, and the social enterprise group at Tauheedul Islam Boys’ School was one of 2022’s four winners.

The group, called Uniformity, upcycles school uniform, to enable local families at the school to donate and purchase clothing via an innovative e-commerce platform with the profits going straight into funding the school’s food bank. 

Thanks to funding from the Bright Future Prize, the social enterprise has expanded its services to more schools in Blackburn, by purchasing their own dry-cleaning machine and upgrading their online platform to make it easier to donate and buy uniform. 

Muhammad said: “I am a huge believer in giving back and helping in the community. Small actions not only help others but have a knock-on effect which spreads across the globe. My mantra is: act local, think global. 

"This funding will help so many people in the long run – not just those needing affordable clothing, it also means our foodbanks can help even more people in the area. We are very excited for the future.” 

The four Bright Future Prize categories, which share the £40,000 fund, are:  

Your Community – Making a difference to the people around you  

Your Planet – Protecting the environment and taking a stand against climate change  

Your Vision – Driving positive change through entrepreneurship or innovation 

Your Passion – Sharing your love for music, the arts or sport with more people   

The prize is open to young people aged 13-19, who live in any region where Ardonagh has a presence, including the UK, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Greece and Italy.

To apply, candidates – individually, or as a group – should propose a project that will make a positive difference and outline how they will use the funding to make their idea a reality. 

Applications are open between 18 September and 3 November.

To apply you can visit: https://www.ardonaghtrust.org/bright-future