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.”