From 2020, Crawley Town Community foundation will engage over thousands young people aged 16 and 17, delivering National Citizen Service (NCS), a 4-week programme funded by the Government.
In partnership with EFL Trust, Crawley Town Community Foundation won the contract to continue the delivery of NCS from 2020 onwards joining 65 Delivery Partners that will be managed by EFL Trust.
NCS is one of the fastest growing youth programmes engaging 500,000 young people since piloting in 2009. The NCS experience will give young people a clearer idea of what they want from their future. They will take on fresh challenges, get a taste of independence and be given a platform to have their voices heard and deliver a social action project that will positively impact their local area. Through EFL Trust, over 1.8 million hours of voluntary work has been delivered addressing local and national issues which young people are passionate about such as mental health, the environment and plastic waste.
Crawley Town Community Foundation has delivered NCS since 2016, engaging over 800 young people. During that time young people have delivered around 50,000 hours of social action in Crawley which has included Mental Health Anti-Sigma and Discrimination work, outreach with the homeless community, instructional first aid videos for epileptic seizures (endorsed by young epilepsy), and many more!
Charlotte graduated NCS with Crawley Town Community Foundation in 2018 and believes that the programme has changed her life;
“To me, NCS provides young people with the opportunity to help the local community and to make a difference to peoples lives, whilst learning lots of new life skills along the way. NCS helped me gain confidence, talk to new people and gain new leadership skills, which I didn't have before. NCS has given me many opportunities, such as being able to continue on the NCS journey and making a difference through extra Social Action Projects. It has also given me the opportunity to continue to work with various charities. If NCS wasn't available, I wouldn't be as confident as I am now. By having a programme like NCS, it has given me the opportunity to gain skills a lot quicker and overall be a more confident team player."
Ellie Smith, NCS Schools Engagement and Recruitment Coordinator for Crawley Town Community Foundation, is delighted to be part of the new network of NCS delivery partners saying:
“I have loved watching this programme grow for the last 3 years, and I have had the privilege of working with lots of incredible young people and staff. I truly believe in the power of NCS to change lives and I am excited to see what the new contract brings!”
Chief Executive of NCS Trust, Michael Lynas said;
“I’m incredibly proud of everything that NCS has achieved in the last ten years. As it moves into the next phase of its life, I’m confident NCS can make a more significant difference for our young people and their communities than ever before.”