NCH young person gets a taste of parliamentary life with Tim at Westminster
A young person from NCH's children's rights project, Rightfully Yours, had a taste of life in the House of Commons when they were invited to spend a day in Westminster with Tim Loughton MP for Worthing East and Shoreham, and Shadow Minister for Children, in support of a campaign to help end child poverty.
Tim invited 17 year old Alyx Simpson to workshadow him, attending meetings and other parliamentary activities in support of the 'Dare To Care: Make time to help end child poverty' campaign. NCH, the children's charity is looking to recruit 1,000 volunteers to a range of roles in support of the campaign, which includes inviting a young person along to gain work experience in different environments.
Tim explained, "There are so many career options out there today-and it can be difficult for young people to know whether they are right for them. That's why I invited Alyx along to Westminster to get a taste of parliamentary life and what it is like to be an MP. Giving people the chance to experience your role is not only rewarding but also a chance to help a young person or adult to understand the different career options open to them. That is why I'm supporting NCH and the Dare to Care campaign, and would urge others to do the same."
Alyx commented, "It was great having the chance to spend a day at Westminster with Tim Loughton - it was totally different to any working environment I had ever experienced before. It opened my eyes to the fact that many careers are not office-based, and can vary lots from one day to the next."
'Dare to Care' is run by CSV, the UK's leading volunteering charity and the Campaign to End Child Poverty, a coalition of 90 organisations. 'Dare To Care' aims to recruit 35,000 volunteers to give time to help children from low-income families, and raise awareness of the experiences of children living in poverty. 'Dare To Care' is supported by five children's charities, and NCH is leading activity on the theme of 'Money' in February.
Hugh Thornberry, NCH Director of Children's Services explained, "Work experience is really valuable when it comes to young people making career choices. As well as building self-esteem and confidence, it encourages them to think about career options that they might not otherwise have considered or had access to. By volunteering with NCH for 'Dare To Care' in this way, and offering a young person or a parent the chance to experience your workplace, you can help to end to child poverty for generations to come."
Anyone can get involved. Visit www.nch.org.uk/daretocare or email volunteeropps@nch.org.uk to learn more about NCH's volunteering roles, and visit www.daretocare.org.uk or call freephone 0800 284 533 to find out more about the campaign.
Ends
Notes to editors
1. For further information please contact Victoria Shillito on 0207 704 7111 or Victoria.shillito@nch.org.uk
2. NCH is offering a range of volunteering roles for Dare To Care. In addition to offering work experience, people can volunteer as: a work/CV skills buddy; a shopping buddy (helping families to shop on a budget); and a carer buddy (supporting families with a disabled child).
3. Please find images attached, accompanying this release. For additional or different images please contact NCH's press office.
4. For interviews with an NCH spokesperson please contact NCH's press office.
5. NCH is one of the UK's leading children's charities, working in partnership to run nearly 500 services for more than 178,000 of the UK's most vulnerable children, young people and their families. For further information visit www.nch.org.uk
6. Dare to Care has five themed months overseen by a leading children's charity. The themed month partners are The Children's Society (Education Month in November), Barnardo's (Family Support Month in December), Children's Links working with CSV's Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP) (Health Month in January) and NCH (Time for Money month in February)
7. The Office of the Third Sector is committing £1.25 million towards the operation of Dare to Care in England
8. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Last year 227,000 people gave 5 million hours of their time as volunteers through CSV. CSV trains 12,705 people of all ages. www.csv.org.uk
9. The Campaign to End Child Poverty is a coalition of 90 organisations working to eradicate child poverty in the United Kingdom. It is formed from children's and other charities, social justice groups, faith-groups, trade unions and others concerned about the unacceptably high levels of child poverty in the UK; working together for a society free from child poverty. www.endchildpoverty.org.uk
,
