On 6^th May 2021, 16 and 17 year olds will be able to vote for the first time at the Senedd Elections. The change was introduced in the Senedd and Election (Wales) Act 2020 as part of the biggest changes to the democratic process in Wales in half a century.

This is an exciting opportunity for young people, as for the first time, we will have a say in choosing who represents us in the next Senedd and will now rightly have a say over critical issues that affect our future, such as health, education and the economy.

YOU MUST BE REGISTERED TO VOTE!

WHEN CAN I REGISTER?
You can register now by visiting gov.uk/register-to-vote and follow the steps to register. You can register for the Senedd Elections being held in May 2021 at the age of 14 years old and over but unfortunately, you will have to wait a little while to vote!

WHO CAN REGISTER?
ŸŸ ● You must be aged 14 or over

And you must also be one of the following;
● a British citizen
● an Irish or EU citizen living in the UK
● a Commonwealth citizen who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission
● a citizen of another country living in Scotland or Wales who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission

To use your VOTE at the Senedd Elections you MUST BE REGISTERED

500 MILE CHALLENGE…

In our virtual walk challenge, we are aiming to cover a combined 500 miles (the distance from Carmarthen to Paris) in just 10 days to raise funds for Shelter Cymru and Ferryside Lifeboats. Every day, our members will need to complete their set distance – by walking or running, while adhering to the Covid 19 lockdown rules.

In rain or snow, whatever the weather – we will carry on! At the end of each day we will reveal our distances to form a daily total and share it on our social media platforms.While making sure that we reach our daily target, we will encourage and motivate each other. We believe that the challenge will strengthen our team skills and improve our wellbeing, ensuring that we can stay active while learning from home.

WE ARE FUNDRAISING FOR…

Be sure to follow us on our social media accounts to keep up with our progress and support us!

JOIN US…

We would love for you to join us on our journey, whether it is by donating or by getting out and about yourself! Be sure to show us what you’re doing by tagging us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and using #CYCRhedegIParis

Once again, this year we have been fortunate enough to be given £13,437 as part of the Welsh Governments Period Dignity Grant to provide FREE Sanitary Products to girls, women and people who have periods of all ages from across Carmarthenshire.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us during the last two years and hope you continue with us on our journey into the third year as we are making a difference! Together we can continue to move forward ensuring period dignity is something that everyone has in Carmarthenshire.

With the support of Carmarthenshire County Council Youth Support Service we are again hoping to distribute Eco Friendly and reusable products to as many services, organisations, projects and business across the county ensuring that products are available and accessible to as many people as possible with no fuss,  no hassle and no questions!

FEEDBACK – If you have been a part of the project during the last two years or have received any products then we would like to have your feedback. Do you have any comments, ideas, complaints or suggestions on how we can further improve our project or products? We would love to hear what you are thinking!

Your feedback is very important to us as it will help shape the project and help us decide on what products to buy from the grant. We would like your views and feedback before Friday 30^th October 2020.

DISTRIBUTOR – If you are an Organisation, Project or Business in Carmarthenshire and would like to support the project by becoming a ‘distributor’ (having free stock of sanitary products made accessible for girls, women and people who have periods in your in your community) then please contact us for more information. We are especially interested in new distributors in the more rural areas of the county.

Please feel free to fill out our short Feedback Form, contact us by commenting below, sending a message via any of our social media accounts using #PeriodPovertySirGâr, by emailing the Participation Team on particiaption@carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Many young people have been supported with free period products during lockdown by our project #PeriodPovertySirGâr and Carmarthenshire Youth Support Services.

We have arranged deliveries and mailed nearly 6,000 period items to young people who have been struggling to access them due to the closure of schools, colleges and youth clubs in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Now restrictions are easing, we are looking for businesses across Carmarthenshire such as cafes and shops who will stock them during the summer break.

Last year we were allocated £13,437 of a Welsh Government grant and we decided to buy a range of eco-friendly and reusable products to hand out.

Carmarthenshire’s Period Poverty Champion, council Deputy Leader Cllr Mair Stephens said: “A lot of young women rely on these free products and we’ve been making sure that they haven’t gone without throughout lockdown either by posting them out or by doing home deliveries.

The aim of the scheme is to make sure girls do not miss out on their education because they do not have adequate protection during their period and to change people’s attitudes towards menstruation so that it is no longer a ‘taboo’ subject.

Youth Council member, Amber Treharne, said: “We would like to thank everyone who has supported our work, it’s been a big help for us to ensure young girls can get free sanitary products at such difficult times. Together, we can now move one step forward to ensuring period dignity is something that every young girl can have in Carmarthenshire.”

If you are struggling to access free period products or are a business who is happy to stock them then please contact participation@carmarthenshire.gov.uk Alternatively, click here to see where else you can collect FREE products from.

Two of our members have been finding out more about what Carmarthenshire County Council is doing to protect the environment.

Cai Phillips and Arwen Skinner invited Cllr Hazel Evans, executive board member responsible for environment, to a digital meeting. The Youth Council is focusing on its campaign ‘To protect our environment’ during part of Plastic Free July. The meeting was a chance for the young people to find out what the county council is doing by speaking directly with the executive board member responsible for environment.

Amongst the topics discussed was the use of plastic waste, climate change and biodiversity. Arwen said: “We called for the meeting to address young people’s concerns about the environment and plastic free July. Our questions got answered and we are looking forward to a meeting in September.”

Cai added: “We wanted to meet with Cllr Evans as we thought that it was important that the Council is aware of young people’s views. The meeting went really well, we had a constructive discussion on many different topics. We are extremely happy that Cllr Evans invited us to another meeting in September to continue the engagement on this important issue.”

Cllr Hazel Evans said: “I would like to thank Cai and Arwen for inviting me to speak with them and asking me some challenging questions. It was a great opportunity to hear their views too and I look forward to meeting with them again in September to follow this conversation up.”