Sunderland AFC and Foundation of Light will join football clubs across the country to celebrate the impact that young people have had across Wearside thanks to NCS (National Citizen Service).
Each year, the Foundation promotes NCS and the impact it has had on young people from Sunderland and beyond through a campaign called
#NCSMatchDay. Given the challenging times this hasn’t been able to happen in its normal format this year however this won’t stop
#NCSMatchDay going digital!
Designed for 16-17-year-olds, NCS is an inclusive summer programme that helps young people get the skills, experience and self-belief they need to achieve their potential - and smash their future goals. NCS aims to make a life-changing difference to young people and how they approach life after school.
In just a few weeks, they’ll mix with new people from different backgrounds, conquer big challenges, pick up some invaluable life skills and get the confidence they need to live independently. They will even take part in a social action project to ‘do good’ in their local community. It’s the perfect stepping stone into adult life – just ask the 600,000 young people who’ve already experienced NCS.
Hundreds of young people took part in NCS last summer, including Josita Thirumalai, who really benefitted from the experience:
“It was really interesting to meet people from different backgrounds and see how they deal with different problems.”
“I’m normally a shy kid who would never speak up or raise a hand in a group, but during the debate I took the chance to speak up and get out of my comfort zone.
“NCS has given me the platform to realise my thoughts and opinions do matter, as long as when I say what I want to say, I’m respectful of others and their beliefs,” she added.
“For me this is a very important life skill and it’s something that will be valuable to my future.”
In 2020, the EFL Trust and its network of Delivery Partners have engaged over 15,000 young people through NCS, giving them an opportunity to make up for lost time by building skills and resilience whilst also being a driving force for change in their community.
