Henry Smith MP column, Crawley Observer, 26 August 2015
One of the joys of being Member of Parliament for Crawley is having the opportunity to work with organisations delivering projects benefiting our young people.
It was confirmed earlier this year that the National Citizen Service programme will be organised locally by the Crawley Town FC Community Foundation.
National Citizen Service, launched by the Prime Minister in 2010, is aimed at 16 and 17 year olds, with the goal of helping young people become more confident and engaged in their local area. The programme has helped them to donate over 3 million hours of volunteering to their local communities across Britain.
I’m looking forward to going to the Foundation’s NCS open activity day at the Checkatrade.com Stadium, on the Ball Court behind the Bruce Winfield Stand.
This starts at 1.30pm on Saturday, 29th August, before Crawley Town’s League 2 match against Wycombe Wanderers at 3pm.
All 16 and 17 year olds are welcome to find out more about the scheme, and to take part in small team-building activities. The first 30 people who complete an NCS expression of interest form will also receive a free ticket for the Wycombe game.
NCS is recognised by UCAS when students apply for further education, and supports schools to achieve an outstanding OFSTED achievement standard.
The Foundation’s autumn NCS activity will consist of a short residential course, followed a variety of activities locally.
The residential course will be at Green Park Activity Centre in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, from Friday 23rd to Monday 26th October 2015. Among various team-building activities taking place will be abseiling, climbing, high and low ropes and a leap-of-faith.
When the team return, they will be based in Crawley for the rest of the week, taking part in various community projects. This will include working with the emergency services and the National Careers Service. This time will help each participant gain ideas for social action initiatives.
I am pleased to be supporting another project from the Crawley Town FC Community Foundation. In November, I joined the Crawley Town Supporters Alliance and Reds legend Sergio Torres in seeing for myself the Kicks project in Bewbush.
That evening, the CTSA presented a cheque on behalf of Reds supporters worth £1,000 to the Foundation, to help with the running of their community activities in the local area – a great example of what can be achieved when a football club and its fans work together.
Last year, I also spoke in the House of Commons in support of Crawley Capers – a project organised by the Foundation and Autism Sussex, who won a phone vote to be awarded £50,000 of funding from the People’s Millions.
Additionally, in April I was delighted to see the Foundation’s Easter Soccer School in Maidenbower, it’s great to see so many young people benefiting from the programmes organised by the Foundation, as they work throughout our community and spread the word about CTFC.
For further information on the NCS scheme or its launch on 29th August, please contact Claire Burrage-Edwards, National Citizen Service Programme Co-ordinator at the Community Foundation, via email: claireburrage@crawleytownfc.com, by phone: 01293 410000, or by speaking to us before the match on Saturday!
Related articles:
Henry Smith goes in goal for St Catherine's Hospice!
23 April 2015
Henry Smith visits Crawley Town FC Community Foundation Easter Soccer School
8 April 2015
Henry Smith MP: Thank you for Voting for Capers!
28 November 2014
Henry Smith MP: Vote for Capers!
20 November 2014
Henry Smith MP visits Crawley Kicks Project
11 November 2014
External links:
Crawley Town FC Community Foundation
National Citizen Service