On Saturday 9th February, Crawley National Citizen Service (NCS) graduates enjoyed VIP treatment as they joined the players and coaches at the stadium for this year’s NCS Match Day – an annual event raising awareness of the important work NCS does in the community organised by Crawley Town Community Foundation.
Over 50 Crawley Town NCS Graduates and Sign-ups as well as PL Kicks participants attended the game as special guests of the Club to mingle with First Team players, including this year’s newly appointed NCS Ambassador, Dannie Bulman.
The young people watched the Crawley Town FC players warm-up before the match in their NCS Match Day T-shirts. At the end of the warm-up the players threw them into the crowd, putting a lot of smiles on young people’s faces.
After the match, the NCS graduates and PL Kicks participants, had the opportunity to meet the Manager, Gabriele Cioffi while partaking in some after match activities on our 3G Ballcourt. This was a fantastic experience of them all, and something they all will remember as a positive experience from the day.
The event, supported by Crawley Town FC and Crawley Town Community Foundation is part of a wider EFL Trust campaign that sees NCS Match Day reach over 21 EFL and Premier League clubs across the country, highlighting the positive work that young people have done in their local community.
In 2018, NCS Match Day reached over 2 million people, with over 300 football players across the country celebrating NCS and the young people who have given back to the local community.
Elinor Adie, NCS Manager said this about Match day, “NCS Match Day is an annual event run by every Football Club’s Community Trust who runs NCS, meaning Saturday’s event was one of several NCS Match Days taking place around the country during February and March. Using the power of football, we are proud to publicise the amazing work that NCS are doing in our community. Since successfully gaining the NCS contract in 2016, Crawley Town Community Foundation’s NCS Team and Graduates have raised nearly £30,000 for local charities and racked up nearly 40,000 hours of volunteering.
This Summer is set to be the biggest yet, with over 300 young people from Crawley, Haywards Heath and East Grinstead taking part. To find out more details about how you can take part, contact the team in Crawley on 01293 410000 ext. 4 or go to NCSYES.CO.UK”.
But what is NCS?
NCS is a government backed programme established in 2011 to help build a more cohesive, mobile and engaged society. By bringing together young people from different backgrounds for a unique shared experience, NCS helps them to become better individuals, and in turn better citizens.
NCS is open to 16 and 17 year-olds across England and Northern Ireland. The two to four week programme, which takes place in school holidays, includes outdoor team-building exercises, a residential for participants to learn ‘life skills’, a community-based social action project and an end of programme celebration event.
To date:
● Almost 500,000 young people have taken part
● Twelve million hours of community action have been completed
● For every £1 spent, NCS’ 2016 summer programme delivered between £1.15 and £2.42 of benefits back to society
It costs participants just £50 or less to take part in NCS and bursaries are available on a case by case basis. Support is provided for young people with additional needs.
To get involved with the amazing opportunities NCS provide, go to: NCSyes.co.uk or https://www.ctcommunityfoundation.com/ncs-1
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