What we did this summer! Our NCS teens spent over 129,630 hours working in their communities, raising over £90,000 for good causes.
This summer 1000’s of teenagers abseiled off mountains, canoed down lakes, made new friends and pushed their limits. They then learned new skills like first aid, budgeting and cooking, before spending time helping other in their communities.
These teenagers were taking part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) with the EFL Trust network of EFL football clubs and youth organisations in Yorkshire and Humber.
Across the region 4,321 young people aged between 15-17 took part in NCS this summer. These young people delivered an impressive 340 projects in their community and raised over £90,000 for good causes. NCS takes place over four phases.
Phase one is ‘adventure’ teens spend a week away pushing their limits with activities such as rock climbing, abseiling, and canoeing. Rotherham MP Sir Kevin Barron joined a group from Rotherham United on a caving and abseiling trip, he said,
“NCS is fantastic. I wish we’d have something like this when I was young where you could get away for four days and learn about life outside the classroom”
A summer graduate who did NCS with Grimsby Town comments,
“I had the best summer ever! I made lots of friends and pushed myself to new limits that I would not have done without the support of my new friends and leaders”
Phase two sees young people split into teams, they will then learn life skills including budgeting, first aid and cooking. This summer one group in Barnsley received a massive surprise when they were visited by youtube sensation Emma Blackery, Emma commented,
“Just seeing the team work from people that didn’t know each other a few weeks ago and to see how close they have become is amazing”
Here’s the full video of Emma visit
Phase three sees teams plan and create a community action project and spend at least 30 hours making their project happen, be it a fundraising event, time spent rejuvenating a local park or even a family fun day.
This year the 340 social action projects made a massive difference across Yorkshire and Humber. These included
- Developing a community garden in Sheffield – https://www.efltrust.com/ncs-teens-from-sheffield/
- Raising funds for a homeless charity in Hull – https://www.efltrust.com/ncs-teens-godsends/
- Renovating a hospital garden in Hull – https://www.efltrust.com/teens-on-ncs-revamp-garden-at-local-hospital/
A graduate from Barnsley sums up what the NCS experience gives young people
“I absolutely loved NCS! I met some amazing people and made so many amazing memories. I gained confidence and became a lot more independent. It was such a fantastic experience.”
Finally phase four is celebration or graduation. Graduates get together to celebrate their summer. Dame Rosie Winterton, MP for joined Doncaster Rovers graduates at their celebration event, she said
“It was a real pleasure to meet with the NCS 2018 Doncaster graduates. Their shared experiences, the skills learnt they have learnt will last them a lifetime and give a real foundation for them to build on in their communities.”
