Summer NCS
Over 1,500 16 and 17 year olds from Leicester+shire, Corby, Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire have participated in this Summers NCS programmes with LEBC.
107 NCS teams spent 2 weeks this Summer on a journey of personal development and Social Action, raising over £25,000 and committing over 47,000 hours to improve their local communities, here’s what they got up to…
In week 1 participants were placed into teams giving them the opportunity to meet new people, and build on their teamwork, leadership and problem solving skills through a week sessions including Jacobs Ladder, Raft Building, Epic Hikes and Business Challenges from Dunelm, Uni of Reading, Grid for Good, LCFC, Prevent with Warwickshire Police, Natwest and Highcross. Living at the campsite for a week was a challenge itself for some.
In the second week, the NCS teams chose charities and causes they were passionate about and set about making a difference in their local communities.
Teams that fundraised and raise awareness chose to champion the following charities:
East Midlands:
- AAA Foundation
- Action Aid
- Aikyam UK
- BACA
- Barnardos
- Be More Fab, via Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust
- British Bee Charity
- British Heart Foundation
- Canal & River Trust
- Cerilian Blue
- Childrens Book Project
- Climate Project
- Food Bank
- Freedom 4 Girls
- FTM Dance
- Leicester Charity Link
- Leicester Hospitals Charity
- Lights Out Climate Project
- Oxfam
- Quetzal
- Rainbows Hospice
- Save the Children
- Street Doctors
- The Centre Project
- The Princes Trust
- The Rotary
- The Y
- Water Aid
- When You Wish Upon a Star
- Willows Climate Action
West Midlands:
- Butterfly Conservation
- Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre & Khalsa Aid International
- Feed the hungry
- Food Bank Solihull
- Freedom 4 Girls
- Helping Hands Community Charity
- Hope Hub
- Kooth
- Langar Aid
- Lifeways Complementary Health Centre
- The Lighthouse, Leamington Spa
- Little Robins Day Nursery, Solihull
- Macmillan
- Make a Wish
- Pencil Case Project
- Practical Action
- Rotary
- The Salvation Army
- Stratford Food Bank
- Trussell Trust
- When You Wish Upon a Star
- WWF
- Zoe’s Place
65 NCS teams collectively raised over £25,000 for the above charities and community groups. This huge impact and fantastic achievement by the teams to drum up support and donations was achieved through fundraising activities from charity meals for friends and family, sports tournaments, bake sales, bucket collections, sponsored walks and silences, raffles and quiz nights and lemonade stands to help combat the heatwave.
A further 42 NCS teams created petitions, campaigns and resources to tackle social issues, including Period Poverty, looking after the environment including clearing the canals with the Canal & River Trust, supporting Leicester Caribbean Carnival, spending time bridging the age gap in Care Homes with the Barchester Group, Extra Care Trust and Royal Leamington Spa Nursing Home, promoted Mens Mental Health, collected clothing and food donations for local food banks, created podcasts on youth matters, created children’s books with moral lessons on bullying and ran surveys with the general public on issues in their communities including Knife Crime.
This Summer the sense of purpose from each team was stronger than ever with a keen focus on which social issue they wanted to tackle and aiming high to create the biggest impact possible. Teams shared their journeys and success on social media and through local news stations including BBC Radio Leicester, EAVA FM and local newspapers.
To support each team, was our NCS workforce of over 150 staff, over 62% of whom were NCS Graduates themselves, bringing a great deal of experience and enthusiasm for the programme from the offset.
We are incredibly proud, grateful and would particularly like to thank all the families and friends of participants who supported with donations and encouragement, to the community venues that hosts teams, to the charities that welcomed our NCS teams input with resources and advice, to the businesses that set challenges in week 1, to the shops and businesses who hosted NCS teams stalls, to our fantastic staff who gave it 100% every day, but most of all to the 1,594 participants themselves, our class of Summer 2022 – you smashed it!
