At PHA we champion positive change. From working with universities, to mentoring students, to raising awareness of charities and organisations who educate and fund aspiring teenagers; at PHA we are always looking for new and exciting ways to support our younger generation and help them to achieve their goals and aspirations.
Encouraging young people to thrive in what they are passionate about, and giving them access to an assortment of knowledge and skills, is a mantra which we believe everyone should foster. But we are certainly not the first people to think this!
Below are six charities and organisations who have made it their mission to create positive change, by tackling a variety of social issues which are preventing our young generation from reaching their full potential and living life to the full…
Big Change is a youth charity who believe that small changes can lead to ‘big change’. They aspire to create a generation where everyone believes that they can change their own world for the better. How? They invest in big ideas and projects that help young people to thrive in life, not just school exams.
For example, the charity has been working on a programme called LEAD which aims to end leadership inequality in working-class communities, by bridging a gap that exists between young natural leaders in working-class backgrounds and the world of business, media, politics, and education. They achieve this by identifying young leaders and helping them to develop their skills so that they can to go on to engage in their local community or find work.
Another one of their many projects is called ONLY CONNECT, which inspires young prisoners, ex-offenders, and youths at risk, to look to the future, by engaging them in group projects, such as drama and the arts. The project encourages teamwork and personal discovery in those who may feel that they have lost their purpose in society.
By backing young people’s ideas at an early stage, the charity is helping to give them the skills to believe in themselves and drive positive change in their own lives.
The Ideas foundation are on a mission to create diversity in the creative industries, by identifying and nurturing creatively gifted 13-19 year olds. Their ‘I Am Creative’ and ‘Incubate’ programmes allow them to identify creatively gifted young people, and ‘The Ladder’ scheme is their way of nurturing them.
How do these projects work together? Well, ‘I Am Creative’ exposes 13-19 year olds to the creative industry by giving them an opportunity to have a go at answering a live creative brief from a global company, and then inviting them to pitch to the company in London. The ‘Incubate’ programme brings specialist industries employers into the classroom to work intensively with young people on projects from across the Digital and Media communications sector. Highly recommended pupils from both programmes will get a place on ‘The Ladder’, where they are exposed to an array of opportunities, news and information, so that they get a head-start in the creative industry!
#iwill is a UK-wide campaign that aims to make social action part of life for as many 10 – 20 year old’s as possible by the year 2020. The campaign is being coordinated by the charity Step Up To Serve, to give more young people the opportunity to take part in exciting and innovative youth social action projects, and develop their skills for work and life.
#iwill involves campaigning, fundraising, and volunteering, to raise money which will benefit young people and their communities. So far more than 700 business, education and voluntary sector partners have committed to embedding social action into the lives of young people – will you join them?
Vinspired is the UK’s leading volunteering charity for 18-25 years old’s. They believe that volunteering can help young people to thrive, and transform the communities they live in – which is why they are encouraging more young people to make their mark on the causes that they care about through volunteering, whilst learning new skills and talents along the way.
The charity has launched a number of schemes to make this happen. For example, their VInspired Cashpoint allows young people to set up their own voluntary project to tackle community issues that matter to them, and their VInspired Task Squad provides employability advice and support.
Since 2006, the charity has created over 1 million volunteering opportunities for young people across the UK – and they aren’t stopping there!
The UK has high levels of inequality, decreasing community cohesion, and an aging population, whilst economic challenges are making it ever more difficult for young people to succeed in life. Generation Change believes that encouraging more young people to be involved in social action will help to tackle these problems.
By partnering with seventeen of the UK’s leading social action programmes, Generation Change is enhancing the understanding and quality of youth social action, providing a platform for collaboration between youth social action and other related organisations, and drawing attention to the youth social action agenda in the media and with policy makers.
If your organisation offers young people an opportunity to take part in social action, why not make a profile on Generation Change’s Horizon Map?
Fight 4 Change is a registered Sport for Development charity which is inspiring young people from vulnerable and disenfranchised communities to make a positive change in their lives – through sport.
The charity encourages young people to participate in a mixture of sports (including boxing, martial arts, multi sports and fitness training) as part of their Sports Intervention Programme, to teach them teamwork, discipline, routine and a sense of belonging.
The charity has also developed a range of health and educational tool kits, including; Employability tool kit, Health and Nutrition tool kit, Mental Health tool kit and Physical literacy tool kit. These tool kits will help young people to build resilience and address goal setting, as well as teaching them communication needs, leadership and confidence.
So far, Fight for Change has engaged 5,120 young people in their Sports Development Programmes, 219 in gang intervention programmes, and 30 in education training and employment!
