Nominations were submitted from all over the country, hundreds of applicants were whittled down to regional winners and then from the regional winners the National Awards finalists were selected…and we are very excited to tell you that our very own Canal Boat Adventure Project NCS team are finalists for this award which is amazing!

The star studded awards ceremony isn’t due to take place until March 22nd 2012 however we wanted to say a huge congratulations now! The team should be extremely proud of themselves as they will be celebrated amongst some of the most inspirational young people and youth workers in the country!

For those of you who dont know, the Canal Boat Adventure Project team won 2 awards at our very own national NCS Awards Event in November 201 1 so it doesn’t come as a surprise that they are finalists here too! They re-opened a derelict community centre in Runcorn to hold a community fun day and are now working to open the centre permanently.

The team was invited down to London for the day to do some filming for the Awards Event and you can see them at 1:22 here!

You can see the other finalists on the vinspired website but for those who want to find out more about the amazing team here’s a small interview that they did with vinspired….

The things I get most out of volunteering are…
Giving back to the community, meeting new people, networking and building key skills. Also, the sense of accomplishment, the experience of making new friends and getting to know our community. 

My volunteering has made an impact on the people I help by…
Making people feel better helps make me feel better. Providing a long term place to come and meet new friends, learn new skills and feel safe. Raising their level of confidence to either volunteer too or get back on track with school or college. Making people feel wanted in their community.

Being nominated for a vInspired National Award makes me feel…
Nice to see our work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Feel special. There are a lot of people in our community who need help and now we can give something back. Happy to have the opportunity to meet other young people who have also worked hard.

If I were Prime Minister for the day, the one thing I would change would be…
Make young people’s views more recognised – make equal rights for young people sand older more experience workers.  Offer more information on local issues (substance misuse), offer more places for young people to go. 

We’ll keep you posted on this but in the meantime…well done Canal Boat Adventure Project and good luck!

On Sunday 18th December 2011 Doncaster Positive Futures’ 8 NCS Ambassadors, NCS Developer Craig  and staff all sledged into a Sainsburys store to complete a Christmas themed bagpack for customers.

The group slogged it out for 6 hours and managed to raise a fantastic £900!

The team at Doncaster Positive Futures wanted to say a huge thank you to Sainsburys at Edenthorpe in Doncaster and in particular Gaynor at Sainsburys who sorted the bagpack out for them along with all the friendly store and checkout staff who helped keep the Christmas spirit  flowing for all 6 hours!!

A big thankyou must also go to all of the generous customers who donated their money - one particular customer even threw in a £20 note!  

Well done guys!

Thank you to VoiceAbility and Easy-Read-Online who supported us in making this video and to Christopher, Megan and Siobhan for being in the film.

If you want to get involved, or would like more information, then click here!

If you’re a young person, or a group of young people, and you want to support your local NCS lead in building the programme across your community, then YouTube Missions are a great place to start your journey as NCS Ambassadors.

Check out our third video:

Our first two YouTube Missions can be found on Young Advisors’ Youtube channel.

If you want more in-depth support on how to complete these missions, plus information on mission extras (or, ‘how to go above and beyond’) then visit the YouTube Missions page on the Young Advisors website.

Good luck!

An NCS Ambassador is someone aged 16-24 who wants to help build NCS within their community, get other young people on board, and use their experiences to guide others through the programme. They’re trained and guided by an NCS Developer, but at the same time encouraged to use their initiative to make NCS the best it can be.

In 2011 Everton’s Ambassador team were at the heart of four separate social action projects – one of which was nominated for a national award at the NCS 2011 Awards Event. Former NCS Ambassador, Mark Dolan, has since graduated onto the role of Developer, and January 20th he welcomed his new recruits in for their initial training.

Mark leading his Ambassador training

Mark led the session like a true pro (following his training by Young Advisors Charity back in November) but also thanks to his experience of leading football coaching sessions in and around his community.

Everton are set to work with three NCS groups this summer, so the NCS Ambassadors will be a key part of ensuring that the experience of up to 45 young Liverpudlians (or Evertonians!) will be one that is run for young people, by young people.

Oliver Shields - NCS Developer for Lifeline Calderdale NCS at Halifax station

We arrived 20 minutes early at Lifeline Calderdale, to the find chatter and hubbub of his team of freshly recruited Ambassadors who had already arrived – keen or what?! Oliver had told me about how he had approached them to be NCS Ambassadors because of them being so involved in NCS last year how they wanted to stay involved.

We were joined by Dave – youth worker at Calderdale Lifeline, and him and Oliver introduced the kinds of things they would be working on as an NCS team. The group were excited and had lots of ideas already on how they could make a difference and play their part in leading NCS locally. They huddled round the laptop to watch the latest youtube mission. The group also began mapping their community to identify businesses, organisations and public institutions they could approach now and start to build relationships with ahead of the 5 phase summer programme.

On the train Oliver talked to me about his ambitions, not only for leading his team of Ambassadors and the NCS experience locally this year, but also about his plans to study English at university and go in to journalism. He talked passionately about his commitment to NCS and why he thinks it is so important. I was left feeling energised to be working with such an enthusiastic young person, and how awesome it is that these young people have a really positive way of channeling their energy and enthusiasm to make a difference to their community.

“Go, team!”, and well done.

NCS Ambassadors

Following their training in November, our new intake of NCS Developers have returned to their communities where it’s been their task to recruit, train, and lead a group of 5 or more peers in becoming Ambassadors for their local NCS project.
We’re already hearing fantastic news back from them, including a case study from one of our new NCS Ambassadors, Sophie Holmes, on how the programme is changing the lives of young people in her community.

Sophie, as an Ambassador for National Citizen Service, is part of a team of young people supporting the staff at Wirral Positive Futures in promoting, supporting, and designing the programme.

Here it is: Sophie’s NCS Experience

If you’d like to find out more about how Young Advisors Charity supports NCS Developers and Ambassadors, click here to visit our site.

Or, if you’d like to find out more about Positive Futures projects (like the one Sophie attends), you could click here.

Our second YouTube Mission is all about getting connected with everything that’s going on around NCS this summer.

The video will give you three easy steps on how to get started, plus the support pack is full of ideas for mission extras!

For more information on YouTube Missions visit Young Advisors!

This year we’ll be supporting our NCS Developers through YouTube Missions.

Every couple of weeks our partners, Young Advisors, will be uploading a new video mission to YouTube, at Young Advisors, and on here, detailing how NCS Developers and Ambassadors can support their project.

YouTube Missions will focus on things like planning, fundraising, supporting recruitment, or simply how to get your community involved!

Our first mission is a nice simple one – all you have to do is watch, and get your NCS Ambassador team prepared for the missions that follow!

Take a look at what our 2011 NCS Participants said:

“Our group is really diverse. Some of my new friends live very differently to the life I lead, but now I love them and talk to them daily.” – Tillie, Southampton

“I felt quite selfish about life before NCS.  Now i really want to help others and make a difference to my community. Thanks NCS.” - NCS Participant

“The mountain climbing was a big challenge. It was hard but it felt good when we completed it.” – Harjit, Walsall

“I have learnt to appreciate communities more and through the social action project I feel I have achieved something to be proud of.” – Charlotte, Calderdale

“What I enjoyed the most was knowing that we could make a difference to the community.” – Darren, Liverpool

“I felt nervous about going on the residentials. I didn’t know anyone and I was afraid about some of the activities because I’m afraid of heights, but we all got on and I had a go at all the activities, even the high walk. It was scary but I did it, and I’m glad I did as it helped overcome my fear of heights.” – Danielle, Lancaster

“NCS has helped me so much,  I never realised how much we could achieve by working as a team and I feel so proud of how much we have helped people who really need it. NCS has taught me that I can go onto achieve my goals if I work hard, and I had the best summer of my life too.” - NCS Participant

“NCS was a great experience, we met new people took on new challenges and learnt new skills.” – Emma, Bridlington

“It’s been great and I’ve met some good friends and done loads of good activities. I have learnt a lot about team work and the community as whole and my confidence has grown.” – Leon, Calderdale

“NCS gave me the opportunity to meet new people and gain skills, it is really enjoyable and everyone should take the opportunity to get involved!” – Tierney, Bridlington

“NCS has been great and its helped me get over fears and give me the opportunity to try things I wouldn’t usually be able to.”  – Oliver, Calderdale

“NCS has made my summer worthwhile. I’ve learnt so many things about my community. I have met some amazing people including the staff that will mstun’t be forgotten. I have learnt some new skills as well as confronting some fears, and hopefully made some difference as a group to my community. There has never been a dull moment. I have loved every second and hope I can help with further events.”  – Abbie, Beverley

“The NCS course has had such an impact on me not only with how i see my life and what I have learned but with my future. I’ve always like sports but could never really see myself getting very far until i did the NCS course and it gave me the inspiration and motivation that I needed to help me succeed with the goals I make and things I now want to do. The weeks I was away i had so much fun because there was always something to do and it was always made fun. I would have to say that I enjoyed the first week more because I had a chance to meet new people and do all the things I like doing. I don’t have a “what was the best moment” because I though it was so much fun in general, there isn’t really anything I would change about the experience and would love to go back next year and do it all again. I simply had the best two weeks of my life!!” – Jade, Wirral

“I overcome my fear of heights and living away from home and its all because of NCS.” - NCS Participant

“Being involved with NCS meant that I spent the summer doing something worthwhile. Our Social Action Projects were very successful and the graduation event was a great way to have all our hard work recognised.” – George, Bridlington

“ I have achieved loads over the summer and by doing NCS but the thing I have mostly done which I can be proud is stop smoking.” – Alex, Calderdale

“The best way to spend your summer holidays! I would love to take part again!” – Alex, Bridlington

“The intergenerational project has been a real success, thanks to the hard work of our group. The commitment and determination the young people have shown, has played a vital part in the outcomes of our programme. They really enjoyed their time spent at the nursing home, meeting new people and being able to build relationships has made our time even more enjoyable.” – Mark, NCS Ambassador, Everton

If you’re interested in signing up to NCS 2012 then you can sign up online by clicking here!