Charity shops have struck a deal with a leading youth programme to help fill up to thousands of volunteer roles as the sector recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
Teenagers could help plug a temporary gap in volunteers as shops start reopening their doors, and if enough come forward they could speed up the sector’s recovery and help more shops open sooner.
The National Citizen Service (NCS) is partnering with charity shops for the first phase of its One Million Hours of Doing Good campaign, which will encourage those aged 16-18 to transform their “summer of disappointment” through volunteering.
Hundreds of Crawley teenagers could engage with the programme, based on the local uptake of previous schemes, but hopes more will take part given the disruption of normal activities.
NCS report found that 44% of 1,032 16-17-year-olds they surveyed in April said they were desperate to support their communities but did not know how to get involved.
NCS Trust CEO Mark Gifford said more than 600,000 young people nationally have engaged with its online Stay Connected hub, launched in April as part of an alternative to its usual residential programme.
He said: “The age barrier of being under 18 should not hold back this huge group of young national citizens who are ready to play a valuable role in our country’s recovery.
“With many young people missing out on their planned work experience, volunteering will also provide an alternative route to develop essential life skills that can’t be learnt in a classroom environment.
“NCS will enable 16 and 17-year-olds to turn a summer of disappointment and restrictions into a summer of ‘No We Can’.”
If you’re a charity or community organisation that needs support to get back on its feet post COVID-19 or would value volunteers over the summer period, your local NCS team would be keen to hear from you. Please express your interest to ncs@crawleytownfc.com and one of the team will be touch to discuss what we can offer as we are striving to help the community as much as we can during the recovery period of the pandemic.
To find more information about NCS and what we are doing to help the community, visit our NCS webpage for any queries - https://www.ctcommunityfoundation.com/ncs-1
Additionally check out our social media for more up-to-date information –
Facebook: Crawley Town Community Foundation
Twitter: @CrawleyTownCF
Instagram: @CrawleyTownCF or @crawleyyp
Or to find more visit our NCS webpage for any queries - https://www.ctcommunityfoundation.com/ncs-1
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