Basingstoke MP Maria Miller met up with young people taking part in the National Citizen Service (NCS) scheme in Basingstoke to learn about what they have been doing as part of the programme.
Maria met the teenagers at BCOT, who as part of the programme were designing and planning a fundraising project. The teams had to “pitch” to a Dragon’s Den style panel to secure a loan to seed fund their project. Maria sat on the panel for two teams, one who were running a car wash to raise funds for Ashcombe Care Home in Basingstoke and the other who were baking and upcycling furniture to raise funds to help regenerate a community Garden for Basingstoke charity, Inspero
Maria said, “The National Citizen Service gives young people a fantastic opportunity to get involved in new and challenging activities, grow in confidence, get new skills for work and life, work together as a team to plan and deliver a project to benefit their community, and to meet new people. From talking to the participants today, it is also clear that they are having a great time and would thoroughly recommend the scheme to friends and family.”
“It is great news that the National Citizen Service is going from strength to strength in Basingstoke.”
The NCS is a unique Government-backed programme for 16 and 17 years olds, that brings together young people from different backgrounds and through a full-time three week programme (followed by a 30 hour social action project) helps them to develop greater confidence, responsibility, resilience and skills, as well as giving them the experience of volunteering for their local communities.