Young people show the ‘Power of Youth’ whilst on NCS
The NCS programme was a roaring success throughout the summer of 2021; with 9,198 young people, aged 16-17, engaging in the delivery of 350 social action programmes, with the collective ambition to improve key social issues and improve the standard of living in their local communities.
Hours volunteered over the course of the summer months amassed 270,000, raising over £60,000 by NCS participants across the EFL Trust network. Following the restrictions posed during the lockdown of 2020, the young people eagerly embraced the opportunity to be hands on in their approach to rejuvenate local areas.
This was particularly evident in Shrewsbury, where an NCS cohort renovated a rundown underpass en route to New Meadow, so fans can enjoy a colourful, Shrewsbury Town themed commute on matchdays. A group from Middlesbrough also made efforts to create a sensory area on a community site aimed for those with learning difficulties, mental health issues and sensory issues to help them relax. A group from North Yorkshire embarked on an impressive 7 social action projects re-vamping a youth-activity space at the YMCA, creating a garden area in their school, making care packages for local care home residents, fundraising for Candlelighters, Westway Open Arms community hub and fundraising for their school.
“This programme has been valuable to me; I have worked with people I would never normally have worked with. My confidence and self-worth has really grown and I feel more independent.” said Megan, 16.
Another key cause that was particularly important to those partaking in the NCS programme over the summer was educating and supporting mental health needs. 13 young people on NCS with Rotherham United Community Sports Trust set out to raise awareness on suicide prevention. In addition to this, a group from Harrogate helped raise funds for Mind, their local mental health charity; whilst also hosting a selection of activities and workshops to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of young people.
“We decided we wanted our Social Action Project to help raise awareness of Mental Health and Wellbeing. We decided to run sports sessions with the younger year groups, alongside mental health workshops; to show them the positive impact of exercise on Mental Health.” Explained Alex, a member of the group.
NCS has given thousands of young people the confidence and self-belief to make the next steps in life – be that higher education or employment prospects – all whilst bolstering their interpersonal and people skills. A great example of this Ethan Bryson, who took part in the NCS summer programme with Hartlepool United Community Sports Foundation. Living with autism since the age of 4, leaving high school during the global pandemic posed a challenge to Ethan, but his experiences of NCS which helped him meet new people and learn new skills prior to his transition to college.
Another illustration of the benefit that the NCS programme can have can be found in Bradley from Burton. Also living with autism, Bradley’s family had reservations about Bradley’s involvement in NCS due to its full-on nature both physically and socially. But these reservations were soon dropped once they saw the positive impact the experiences had on Bradley. They said:
“The skills he has learnt from just those 2 weeks on NCS has given him so much confidence.” said a member of Bradley’s family. “Thank you so much to everyone for giving Bradley the opportunity to show him he has the ability to do anything he wants.”
This week, young people are being celebrate through #iwillweek recognising the power of youth and their capability when given a voice and a platform to do so, just like 9,198 young people that took part in NCS this summer.
