Extension for Sheffield project that helps 12 to -19-year-olds gain valuable life skills

A community programme designed to upskill young people in an area of Sheffield has been granted an extension after a successful year.

The #Iwill Community Ambassador Programme is being delivered in Woodthorpe by Sheffield charity All About You in partnership with social housing provider Acis and funded by Clarion Futures, the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group, and the #Iwill fund.

Local young people aged 12-19 volunteer their time each week to gain valuable life skills and experiences that will set them up for lives as respectful, law-abiding adults.

Since March 2019, the group have picked up skills around cooking, hospitality, timekeeping, positive relationships, conflict management, media, gardening, recycling and even politics - all aimed at raising confidence levels. Last year’s work culminated in the group preparing and serving Christmas lunch to local people.

The group has been involved in an array of social action projects locally, including a history project detailing how Woodthorpe has changed over the years and helping to clear weeds and overgrown areas. They have also recycled wooden pallets and rebuilt them to create planters for the community and planted 2,000 daffodils to brighten up the estate.

With the sessions deemed successful, the project has now been granted an extension until at least August 2020, with more spaces for young people to get involved.

Ryszard Szumski, Deputy Manager at All About You, said: “The idea is to help build young people up to be better people. Sometimes young people don’t have the confidence to go out or express themselves. They often see things through the eyes of their peers, when it’s not necessarily right.

“The programme has made a big difference to the lives of the young people engaged. They’ve turned into a very confident group and we’re really proud of them. They’ve tackled things they’ve never done before; picking up new skills, speaking to older people, speaking to people from different cultures. We’re really glad the programme will continue.”

Sean Brennan, Service Development Officer at Acis, said: “The young people involved in this programme have been a credit to their community. We are so pleased the programme has been given extra funding to continue its great work in Woodthorpe and we hope the model can be replicated in other areas of Sheffield.”

Marta Rios, Clarion Futures Youth Engagement Lead, said: “We are very proud of the good progress and achievements of these young people as well as delighted to be working in partnership with the #IWill fund, Acis and All About You to support more youth-led social action projects in Sheffield. This programme has proved to positively improve Woodthorpe estate through the empowerment of young local people to build better community living and sense of belonging among their residents.”

The #IWill project is a national programme, with both The National Lottery and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport each investing £20m over a four-year period.

To find out more, call All About You on 0114 265 4165 or email Ryszard Szumski on [email protected].