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On Monday 19th September we held our celebrations which showcase the achievements of our Wave Four Summer National Citizen Service (NCS) participants at a glittering graduation ceremony in Chesterfield.

Held at the historic Winding Wheel theatre this event marked the end of a Summer of adventure, team work and inspiring social action for 50 young people aged 16-17 that had taken part. Participants were welcomed back for a chance to share with friends and family the remarkable journey they had been on.

All participants had put an incredible amount of work into NCS, giving up part of their Summer holidays to take part in the scheme. Despite not knowing their team mates before the first day they overcame challenging activities together, learnt new skills and created some amazing projects to help their communities. It was unbelievable to think that just months beforehand most of the young people at Friday’s event had never met one another. The buzzing atmosphere of excitement, friendship and support stands testament to the tight bonds they formed thanks to NCS.

Each team was welcomed in turn to the stage, as their leader recounted the highlights of their wave.  Every young person received a certificate as an official document to mark their hard work and the challenges they have overcome. This certificate and the hard work they have invested in NCS is recognised by universities, colleges and employers and will help them in the future by making them stand out above the rest.

The graduation ceremony enabled us to give special recognition those participants that had gone the extra mile and social action projects which had made the biggest impact on the local community.  Within each of the four teams from Wave One, a ‘Social Action Hero’ was chosen by their FF Team Leader.

We were delighted to recognise the achievements and awarded the ‘Social Action Hero Award’ to:

  • Jordan Williams
  • Fiona Bennett
  • Sam Beardshaw

Every team fearlessly took to the stage to present their social action project which they designed, planned and carried out over the Summer. We were honoured to welcome leaders from the local community who judged the presentations, and would like to say a big thank you to them for giving up their time to join us and celebrate the impact of our young people.

  • Simon Paterson, Ingeus
  • Alan Ward, Community Organisers
  • Rachel Hodgkinson, Community Organisers
  • Trevor Rhead, Derbyshire Alcohol Advisory Service
  • Mark Hazlehurst, Poolsbrook parkrun
Our panel of judges assessed the teams on their report and presentation according to the following judging criteria.

  • The teams learning and knowledge gained
  • The teams impact on their community
  • The team skills that participants have learnt and developed throughout the programme including creativity, self-confidence, risk-taking, energy and leadership.
  • Any additional special recognition, including having other people involved in the project, creating multiple projects or creating a sustainable project

The Social Action projects were diverse and reflected the interest and passions of the young people; from depression in young people, to issues with eating out as a coeliac.

The winning team, ‘The Squad’ with their Youth Sparks project which aimed to raise awareness of depression in young people.  They fundraised over £300, created a Youtube campaign video. The judges were impressed with their project, especially the amount of media coverage they achieved.

The group set up social media including a website which the charity continues to use themselves, raised nearly £300 and showed how well they had worked as a team.

All graduates should be really proud of what they have achieved and we’re delighted to have publicly acknowledged the dedication, leadership and commitment they have shown by taking part in NCS. We would like to thank them, and every single member of staff that led, mentored and supported the participants on Wave Two to compete the programme!

Michelle

Project manager Future Foundations

“It was amazing to see the wide variety of projects undertaken.  What really impressed me about these young people was their grit and determination.  Many of the teams faced difficulties, which they overcame and learnt a lot from.  For them to stand in front of all those epopel and present their project just goes to demonstrate how far they have come in building their confidence through this amazing programme.”

NCS is a Government funded, national programme delivered by local delivery partners. This inclusive, part-residential programme is aimed at increasing young people aged 16-17 leadership, teamwork and communication skills as well as developing trust, responsibility, understanding and empathy.  Future Foundations operates the NCS programme in Chesterfield, if you live anywhere else and would like to take part please visit the national NCS Yes Website.