Students at Newcastle College are being asked to find ways to make an impact on the North East community today, as part of Youth Social Action Day.
The challenge comes after the College has embedded social action into its curriculum with funding from the #iwill campaign, an initiative which aims to make social action a part of life for young people
Tony Lewin, Principal of Newcastle College says: “We are based in the heart of a diverse and vibrant community and it has always been important to us to find ways of contributing to our local area.
“Being able to participate in the #iwill campaign is a fantastic way to do that and by embedding the programme into our curriculum, we can encourage all of our students to consider how the actions they take can make a real impact and what their role in society can be.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what our students come up with and deliver.”
The #iwill funding will be distributed to teams of students at Newcastle College, who will be given £250 to plan, develop and deliver their own projects which will benefit local communities or organisations.
The programme has been embedded into the College’s curriculum alongside vital work-experience, ensuring every student will be given the opportunity to take part, while developing important skills skills such as team-work, decision making, communication and negotiation.
Newcastle College aims to deliver 100 social action projects over the life of the two-year programme and several are already well underway, including fundraising for local care homes and visiting a local day-care nursery to entertain children.
Currently the only college in the region participating in the programme, Newcastle College is collaborating with The Key, a North East charity which works with young people to develop their skills through social action, to help get the programme off the ground.
Una MacDermott, Project Manager at The Key, said: “The Key aims to inspire belief in young people by delivering our unique Framework, which supports young people to discover what they’re truly capable of and build their skills and self-confidence for the future.
“We’re thrilled we’re able to help kickstart this exciting social action programme with Newcastle College and be part of supporting their students to break barriers and take the initiative for causes they’re truly passionate about in the community.”