More than 500 NCS participants attend graduation

More than 500 young people from across the Doncaster borough celebrated their NCS graduation on Wednesday night at the annual Club Doncaster Foundation event.

Taking place at the iconic Doncaster Dome, an evening filled with awards, laughter, music and memories recognised a fantastic summer of success for NCS participants.

Since the beginning of July, these young people have spent three weeks taking part in physically and mentally enduring challenges, along with volunteering up to 30-hours of their time to make a difference in their local community. 

They were joined in their celebrations by Doncaster Rovers player Cameron John, who was on hand to present the special recognition awards on the evening.

The Wolverhampton Wolves loanee also stuck around to mingle with the young people, posing for photos and talking to the participants about their NCS journeys, something which he feels was truly inspiring.

He said: “After speaking to a few of the young people, I can see how much of a lasting impact NCS has had on them.

“Learning about all the community work and how they’ve given back to Doncaster is fantastic, I can’t do anything but endorse it.”

Plenty of special guests were invited to share in the success of the young people, including representatives from the Foundation’s project partner, Frenchgate, alongside members of the EFL Trust, YHA, Expect Youth and Teenage Cancer Trust, the latter winning an award on the evening.

Head of Impact Doncaster, Jan Budtz, said: “This has been one of our most successful NCS summers to date, so I am extremely proud of all my staff and participants for making it one to remember.

“It was great to see so many people not just take part in the programme but have a strong commitment to social action.

"To have 606 young people deliver more than 15,000 hours of community work and raise £16,728 in the process for local charities, is an absolute credit to all those who have taken part this summer.”

The NCS summer programme allows young people to escape their comfort zones, embarking on an adrenaline-filled adventure in a variety of adventure locations. They try their hand at activities such as rock climbing, kayaking, hiking and archery.

They then spend a week learning new skills and enhancing their CV’s, taking part in a wide range of workshops, before volunteering in a range of social action projects to impact on the community of Doncaster.

606 participants contributed to 43 social action projects, delivering 15,630 hours of community action and raising £16,728 for charities across the borough.

NCS is open to all 15-17-year-olds in the region and Club Doncaster Foundation will begin recruiting in November for the next adventure, taking place in summer 2020.

To find out more information, visit the website http://www.clubdoncasterfoundation.co.uk or phone 01302 764663.