Working with our supervisors, the volunteers will be litter picking, cleaning up graffiti and cutting back overgrown vegetation on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in the Eldonian area.
We will be staging the clean-up in partnership with Everton In The Community, the official charity of Everton Football Club.
Youth Social Action Day is being organised by the National Citizen's Service which is a government-backed social action and personal development programme aimed at 16-17 year olds.
Step Up to Serve
It supports the ‘Step Up to Serve' campaign, launched by the Prince of Wales to encourage more young people to get involved in social action by helping their local communities. The programme hopes to see participation levels double by more than 50 per cent by 2020.
We already have our own Waterways Action Squad aimed at inspiring a new generation of waterway enthusiasts. This enables young people to gain new skills, have fun and give something back while learning more about the waterways.
Previous projects delivered through our Action Squad programme include a North West based youth volunteering project for 16-25 year olds, a six month employability, volunteering and personal development programme for 16-19 year olds not in education and a Youth Activity Centre at the National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port.
Learn lessons
Lucie Unsworth, a youth engagement manager with the Canal & River Trust, said: “The National Citizens Service gives a real opportunity for young people to get ahead in work and life and learn lessons that can't be taught in the classroom.
“We hope the young volunteers taking part in Youth Social Action day will enjoy the experience and it will inspire them to volunteer with the Canal & River Trust and other organisations in the future.
The event supportsour Step Up to Serve pledge to inspire and support young people in communities who use the national network of living waterways. As part of this pledge, the we also plan to set up a Youth Engagement Board to give young people a voice at the highest level in the Trust.
