Skip to main content

The charity making life better by water

2021 Youth impact report

Our 2021 report celebrates the activities that have taken place for young people from all walks of life and demonstrates the impact we're making through effective partnerships and community engagement.

Young volunteers along the Nottingham & Beeston Canal

Throughout 2021, we continued to grow our youth engagement work and made significant progress towards achieving our POWER of Youth Charter commitments, which we made in 2020.

The stats

  • Over 35,000 young people engaged in Trust-delivered activities and events
  • Over 1,300 young volunteers are making a difference in local communities
  • Close to 2,000 hours of youth social action were logged
  • Around 45,000 children and young people engaged in learning and skills activities
  • Over 19,000 young people participated in face to face water safety learning sessions (including digital)
  • Close to 5,000 children and young people engaged through Community Roots
  • 45,000 children and young people engaged in our Beat The Street initiatve

All figures are approximate due to the nature of data collection and events and a current changeover of systems.

Highlights from 2021 include:

Supporting young people in new ways

Adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic, we created more opportunities for young people to engage digitally, remotely and through self-directed activities. These included new learning at home bundles, virtual engagement sessions, and six resource packs designed to be used independently by individuals, or as group sessions lead by a volunteer or leader.

Creating a more inclusive environment

We worked with more partners on a national and regional level across a wider variety of sectors to broaden representation and enhance inclusion. Our youth engagement advisory group now consists of representatives from the youth, health, sports and education sectors.

Launching new initiatives

2021 saw the launch of our youth fellowship programme, giving young people a formal role in the Trust and a voice in our decision making.

Welcoming Kickstarters

We welcomed 47 young people to our regional, construction and digital marketing teams and are immensely proud that 22 now have apprenticeship roles with us.

Last Edited: 18 March 2024

photo of a location on the canals
newsletter logo

Stay connected

Sign up to our monthly newsletter and be the first to hear about campaigns, upcoming events and fundraising inspiration