The heartwarming Jarrow teenagers who are making a difference to the lonely this Christmas

Teenagers from Route2Work College at Jarrow Hall are volunteering with the National Citizen Service and they are making a big difference.

Two teams of teenagers have already organised a sponsored walk from Jarrow to South Shields town centre so that they can buy items on the Hebburn Helps’ Christmas wish list. It means that presents can be delivered to families most in need this season.

Another project saw the teenagers designing mental health posters which signposted people to organisations which could help them such as Tyneside MIND. The teenagers decided on the idea as Christmas is a time where people can feel isolated.

All this is being done by teenagers who are taking part in a bespoke NCS (National Citizen Service) programme, with NCS delivery partner Headliners (UK), which is a youth media charity.

Among them is Thomas Bailey, 17, who said: “We picked our project because we wanted to try and stop people from suffering alone, but also to show we care for each other even at the moment when it’s hard. ‘It’s okay to not be okay!’ and ‘No matter what, be yourself’ are our messages.

“You get to take part in different activities with NCS. I have built my confidence massively since the start.”

Rachel Kitson, Operations Manager for Learning, Skills and Employability at Groundwork South and North Tyneside, said: “The NCS team at Headliners have worked so hard to engage with us and ensure that the bespoke programme has been delivered to an incredibly high standard and at the same time being COVID safe and secure.

“I took part in a ‘Dragons’ panel and I was blown away by the presentations and how much work they had put into them. There were many learners who when they started on the programme with us wouldn't have stood up, spoken and taken questions from the ‘Dragons’ - to see and hear them do that was fantastic. I could see how much their confidence, communication and social skills had developed whilst taking part in the programme.”

Since NCS was founded, more than 600,000 young people have been on an NCS programme, contributing to 14.5 million hours of volunteering.

For more information on NCS, visit www.wearencs.com.

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