Gordon Brown’s compulsory youth volunteering vision has kicked off today with the announcement of £16m for five pilot projects over two years that will establish ways to get all young people aged 14 to 19 volunteering for 50 hours.
Youth Community Action (YCA) will be funded and led by the Department for Children Schools and Families, with support from the Office of the Third Sector.
Youth volunteering charity v will deliver the 14 to 16-years element of the scheme dubbed “vschools,” which will seek to embed a culture of community action across secondary schools.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families is also investing £11m to raise the profile of Youth Community Action more widely so all areas are better prepared to improve engagement of young people in their communities and particularly to help schools get involved.
The pilot areas are:
- Brighton and Hove
- Kent
- Lincolnshire
- Salford
- City of York.
