Derby County celebrates the Power of Youth

Derby County celebrates the Power of Youth

This week Derby County Community Trust has celebrated International Youth Day, which gives the perfect excuse for the club to celebrate the amazing participants and what they achieve in the communities!

The English club started this summer with the return of the popular NCS programme, which provides 16 and 17 year olds with the chance to gain skills and independence whilst developing a social action project designed to help a charity of their choice. Projects this year have supported a huge range of local causes, including Save the Children, Heartlink, Alzheimer’s Society, Doorways Derby, Bridge the Gap, Children’s First, Bundles of Hope, Hope Centre Long Eaton, Derbyshire Refugee Solidarity, Cancer Research and Derby Food 4 Thought, amongst many others.

In total, the young people have worked together to dedicate their time and effort to these causes, running events and awareness initiatives which have raised over £5,000 in total. Previous NCS participants are still engaged in supporting their communities too, through the club’s Changemakers project, which sees young people take on regular projects. To date this year, they have undertaken gardening at a local care home and produced welcome boxes for refugees. 20 of these young people are currently preparing for the Grads in Kenya trip, where they will travel to Nakuru to support the partner schools over a week-long period later this month.

Other projects have also celebrated the club’s young people this summer. Derby County Community Trust has seen its Tackle It and GREAT Girls groups work together to help others, by organising a uniform drop-off point at Pride Park Stadium. The aim is to collect new or nearly uniform in time for the new school year and distribute it to families ready for September. Both the groups are for 11-17 year olds and are designed to support their wellbeing, as part of the wider Winning Minds programme which supports youth wellbeing across the board. Participants have taken on various projects this year, including baking for older participants.

In recognition of International Youth Day, the second annual Premier League Youth Summit also took place this week. It invited representatives from football clubs across the entire network to share their views on the issues that are affecting them and their communities. Participants from Derby County Community Trust’s Premier League Kicks project joined the national event, to talk about issues they’re facing as young people in their communities, and how they can make positive change.

August also marks a milestone for many of the young participants, as they receive GSCE and A-Level results, which allow them to take their next steps. At the Trust, the English football club is thrilled to attract 400 students, the largest ever cohort, to the Education programmes from September – offering the chance to play, train and study.