Soabar and the National Citizen Service (NCS)

Recently, Soabar has begun to support the National Citizen Service here in Leicestershire. NCS aims to deliver a “˜once-in-a-lifetime experience’ to young people between 15-17 years of age.

Throughout the course of the intensive 4 week summer programme, NCS aims to develop young people’s “˜skills for work and life’ whilst allowing them the opportunity to “˜take on challenges and meet new friends’. We feel that programmes such as NCS play a vital role in nurturing an individual’s confidence, social skills and work ethic. This will be crucial when they make that all important step between the academic and the working world.

The emphasis placed on team work and communication is second-to-none, yet it is not only the individual that benefits from the programme’s ventures. Rather, each team will complete around 30 hours of volunteer work as part of a chosen “˜Social Action Project’. Previously, these have included improving the facilities at local primary schools and youth clubs, working with  charities such as LOROS, as well as re-vamping a children’s play area in Groby. It is this part of the project that Soabar proudly supports, as we feel that it makes an incredible difference to the local community.

The first week of the young people’s time is spent away from home taking part in a variety of team building exercises, outdoor pursuits and adventure activities. When they return, they have a skills week awaiting them which is held in the Halls of Residence of the University of Leicester. This is set up in a way to give them a taste of independent life. The daytime activities are structured around enhancing their knowledge of the local community, and learning skills which will be used in their Social Action Projects.

Week 3 gives the young people time to plan their project, seeing them based in libraries, cafes and community centres located across the city. It is during the course of this week that they will make the first trip to the place where they will be volunteering. They also complete a First Aid course at the University. The final week is spent doing 30 hours of community service. There are a total of 48 teams working with 29 project providers, so it really is a county-wide incentive.

 

 

Soabar proudly sponsors the social action phase of the National Citizen Service (NCS) programme in Leicestershire. The NCS programme empowers young people to build skills for work and life whilst making a positive difference in their local community. By financially supporting NCS, Soabar is enabling young people from across the county to complete the volunteering phase of the project. It is this stage that NCS themselves describe as “˜the most exciting and rewarding week’ of them all. We feel that giving young people opportunities such as these is invaluable to their personal and social development. Through speaking to previous participants, we have found that NCS allows them to gain confidence and skills that would otherwise not have been accessible to them. 

If you would like to find out more about what NCS does in your local area, then visit the NCS website or follow their social media feeds. If you are also interested in sponsoring the Social Action Phase of NCS in Leicestershire, then please visit the LEBC website to find out more.

 

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