On Friday 11th August 2017, 60 local teens taking part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) youth empowerment programme were visited by Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle.
NCS is a unique opportunity for 15-17 year olds to develop life and employability skills, make new friends, and create and deliver a community project of their choice, addressing a local issue for the benefit of others. The NCS programme is delivered across Kent and East Sussex by charity, CXK.
Visiting the teams’ base at Bexhill Hive; Huw was greeted by the participating young people and their team leaders, who presented to Huw the details of the social action projects they had designed, developed and were in the process of delivering within the local community as part of the NCS programme.
One team of young people discussed their activity in support of The Conquest Hospital. The teens had dedicated 30 hours each to fundraising for the hospital’s Scanner Appeal, with donations to be used to contribute towards the purchase of a new MRI Scanner. Fundraising activities had included bag-packing at a local supermarket, busking, and a sponsored walk from Bexhill to Hastings, with the team raising £1,400 in total.
A second team discussed their development of ‘The Torfield Awareness Project’, which aims to raise awareness about the commonality of disability whilst raising money for Torfield School. The team plan to raise donations and awareness through a variety of initiatives including a quiz nights, raffle and bake sale; and have organised a ‘sensory box’ activity in Alexandra park, designed to promote awareness to the general public about how it feels to live with a disability such as blindness.
Other teams were raising awareness and money for Dragonflies children's bereavement services and Barby Keel's animal sanctuary.
Huw commented: “To meet so many young people coming together for the benefit of themselves and their community was a huge pleasure. As this group demonstrated, young people have so much to offer when they are given the opportunity to come up with their own ideas and put them in to action. It was great to join the teams and listen to their experience. I look forward to watching out for their future endeavours”
NCS is open to all 15-17 year olds across England and Northern Ireland, and is a unique four week full-time programme focused around fun and discovery, with participants volunteering at least 30 hours to a community project they create to address an issue important to them. 1.5 million hours have already been volunteered by tens of thousands NCS graduates to communities across England and Northern Ireland since 2011.
The programme is designed to create a more cohesive society by mixing young teenagers from a wide variety of backgrounds, while supporting their transition into adulthood by enabling them to develop essential skills for work and life.
Nina Atkinson, Project Leader, National Citizen Service commented: “It was a real pleasure to welcome Huw Merriman to NCS in Bexhill. The young people he met were excited to share their experiences of meeting new people, outdoor adventure, living in a university, and supporting charities and causes in their local community. They are part of a national movement of more than 100,000 NCS participants from all backgrounds who this year will make new friends, learn skills for life and work and build stronger communities."