Young volunteers give time to FitzRoy garden

National Citizen Service (NCS) is open to all 16 and 17-year-olds in England, and helps young adults to develop greater confidence, self-awareness and responsibility by getting involved in local community projects.

FitzRoy were lucky enough to be approached by one such group, who wanted to raise money and volunteer for a local project in Petersfield. Jim, FitzRoy’s volunteer coordinator, worked closely with the enthusiastic team to work on a garden project at our PDRC day service in Petersfield. Here’s what the volunteer team had to say about the experience:

Sian, 17
“The first week of the NCS scheme was about challenging ourselves and team building. We did surfing, kayaking and coast steering (jumping off cliffs into the sea!). The second week we camped and learnt new skills – in particular we learnt how to coach kids at football and cricket. We also had to buy our own food and cook it – and we made a meal for the homeless. For our third week we had to plan and organise a fundraising activity for FitzRoy, our chosen charity. We ran a quiz at the square mile brewery which raised £270 and a cake sale which raised £130”

James, 16
“The scheme enables us to feel like valued and contributing members of the community. By working today at FitzRoy, I really got to see first-hand what effects our volunteering will have on the people they support.”

Joe, 16
“We chose to fundraise and volunteer for FitzRoy as it wasn’t as well-known and it deserves the same attention as some of the larger charities. Rather than FitzRoy having to employ gardeners we were able to save the charity some money and come in and help in their garden. It’s really been great fun, and I hope people have as much enjoyment using the garden as we did in creating it.”

A big thank you to everyone involved for all your hard work!