26th November 2019
Just 5% of adults think that young people today are very likely to take part in social action (activities to make a positive difference to others) and only 4% selected “selfless” from a list of adjectives to describe young people today.
Ethan
In reality, 60% of young people take action to help other people or the environment every year, and 74% of them care about contributing to make the world a better place.[1]
That’s why we celebrated #iwill Week in tutor groups recently! We believe our students have the skills, energy and ideas to tackle society’s toughest challenges today, and we invited student Ethan to talk about how he helps.
#iwill Week is an opportunity to shout about the positive changes young people are creating in communities across the country, as volunteers, mentors, campaigners - and much more. It’s also a chance to shine a spotlight on organisations that are empowering and supporting young people to take action on issues they care about.
Ethan spoke to fellow students throughout the week about the incredible work he does as an NSPCC Ambassador and encouraged others to get involved and seek out local volunteering opportunities. Ethan explained how his volunteering work not only helps those in need, but also benefits him too. Working for the NSPCC, Ethan supports them in a range of ways; from developing campaigns to spreading important messages around online safety and the work of ChildLine. Through his volunteering, he has spoken at conferences to professionals, teachers and safeguarding leads and helped the organisation to understand the world from a young person’s perspective.
The passionate teen went on, “I was invited to work with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as part of their Cyberbullying Taskforce. I have worked with major companies and celebrities in order to gain their support and funding for the service, like our partnership with Lidl, where you’ll find us everywhere!”
Ethan spent the week inspiring peers to take social action and make a difference. During the week he also had an opportunity to spread his passion for volunteering further, as he took over the #iwill Week Twitter account!
Dr Rania Marandos, CEO of Step Up to Serve, the charity that coordinates the #iwill campaign says: “When young people are empowered, and believe they can make a difference, the sense of possibility they bring to communities is incredible. This is why the #iwill campaign started in 2013. It has since become a powerful cross-sector movement of over 1,000 organisations and young people. #iwill Week celebrates the action they are taking together to transform the role young people play in society, as leaders of the present not just leaders of the future.”
[1] Ipsos Mori, National Youth Social Action Survey 2018, https://www.iwill.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/NYSA-Survey-2018.pdf
