Aston Manor Cider has announced that the Alcohol Education Trust will be one of its charities of choice until 2022.

The Alcohol Education Trust’s mission is for young people to enter adulthood having a responsible understanding of alcohol and its effects. The charity engages with children before they begin drinking, helping to build resilience skills, know how to avoid and resist risky situations and to look after themselves and others in scenarios involving alcohol.

As part of the three-year relationship, Aston Manor Cider is ensuring that schools, youth and sports clubs across Birmingham, the Midlands and Devon - the homes of the cider makers production facilities and orchards – are provided with award winning interactive resources, lesson plans  training and support.

The support from Aston Manor Cider and other funders is enabling the Alcohol Education Trust to employ a regional schools and young people coordinator to work with schools and youth organisations across these regions and the whole South West.

Gordon Johncox, chief executive of Aston Manor Cider, said: “The Alcohol Education Trust is an innovative organisation doing great work across the UK, and we are proud to support them. Our view is that adults should enjoy alcohol in moderation and whether people decide to drink or not, everyone should have responsible understanding of alcohol.

“The charity equips young people with important life lessons and skills enabling them to make safer decisions around alcohol. We look forward to seeing how the project develops and the positive influence it has across Birmingham, the Midlands and Devon.

“At Aston Manor Cider, we have committed to becoming more sustainable for many years. An important feature of this is to advance the responsible enjoyment of alcohol by informed adults. Alongside increased investment in making a positive environmental impact and sustaining employment, this is a clear priority for us.”

Helena Conibear, CEO of the Alcohol Education Trust, said: “Support from Aston Manor Cider is enabling the AET to extend its work to schools and youth organisations in new areas with the added support of a highly experienced regional coordinator who will provide training for teachers and youth workers and information talks for parents across The South West and Midlands

“Schools and youth organisations are also entitled to receive our highly evidenced ‘talk about alcohol’ programme with over 30 lesson plans, games and activities free of charge.”

For more information about the Alcohol Education Trust, please visit www.alcoholeducationtrust.org  for parents and professionals and www.talkaboutalcohol.com, for young people.