Shouting about our students’ incredible volunteering efforts on Power of Youth Day
Power Of Youth Day, which takes place during Volunteers’ Week, is an opportunity to shout about the incredible contributions that young people are making in their communities, society and the environment. Throughout the day events and celebrations take place across the UK. Leaders, organisations and young people take to social media to celebrate the #PowerOfYouth, recognising the invaluable and diverse contribution they are making to society.
To those ends, here are a few organisations that empower young people that you can direct interested students towards.
Refugee awareness
A group of students from Quarry Hill, frustrated by the treatment of refugees in the UK, decided to take action. So they began meeting regularly with Youth Social Action Apprentice Florence, to plan a campaign. They learnt about the current policies and treatment of refugees in the UK and researched how best to discuss refugees and asylum seekers, before making their own information and action leaflets for students. They spoke to students, making them more aware of the ‘inhumane’ Nationality and Borders Bill, and also suggested actions they could take. Those tasks included writing compassionate messages on orange hearts to be displayed at campus, buying an orange heart badge to fundraise for UNHCR, signing a letter to send to their local MP and signing a petition. The group had a great response from students, who all wanted to help make a positive difference.
The students who took part had a lot of positive things to say:
Aishah – “Don’t be afraid to try something out of your comfort zone, new experiences and skills will only benefit you in the future. There will only be a gain, not a loss.”
Afsha – “We got to put our message across about how we felt about refugees. I feel like I made a difference in their lives – we got a letter signed for MPs.”
Fatima – “What is the harm in trying new things? You can change the way others view things in societies and encourage other people to do the same.”
Eco action group
The Leeds City College Eco Action group, based at Quarry Hill, meets regularly at 12pm on Fridays. The students came together and, with their shared passion for the environment, decided that they wanted to educate their local community and share information about how to be more sustainable. The group have started making TikToks about local businesses that are eco-conscious, plus posters highlighting simple ‘sustainable swaps’.
Fundraiser at Beeston
Kai, from Beeston Campus, runs the Student Union Minecraft society and wanted to run a fundraiser with games at his campus. Kai worked really hard to plan and advertise his ‘pay to play’ event which had FIFA, lego, table tennis and board games. Students and staff donated £1 to play and Kai raised nearly £37 to support Ukraine.
Surplus to purpose
A group of Digital and IT students from Printworks looked at the issue of food waste. They visited Surplus to Purpose, an organisation in Leeds which redistributes food waste to those in need, and offered their time to volunteer. The group helped by sorting through the food and packaging and organising the warehouse. The work that the students did would usually take three weeks for the organisation, so their help was extremely valuable.
