30 April, 2019
Students from Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy have launched their ambitious #iwill project which will see them carry out a range of voluntary work in the local community.
The aim of the #iwill Unity in the Community project is for pupils to give something back to their local communities in Ilkeston and Cotmanhay through Youth Social Action.
Pupils are working together to plan, promote, design and deliver a range of initiatives through their involvement in national campaign #iwill, which will benefit their community, their academy and also themselves!
Their first activity was a litter pick in Cotmanhay and they were joined by staff and service users of P3, a social inclusion charity in Cotmanhay, and supported by Erewash Borough Council. Every litter picker wore a high-vis jacket sponsored by Motifs.
Teacher Georgie Hill said: “The aim of the project is to bring the community together, give back and gain local pride. Students decided to do a litter pick working with Erewash council and P3 a charity that works with people to change their lives for the better.
“We had 25 students who took part and these students want to be involved with any upcoming projects that we are going to run, our high-vis and clean up was sponsored by Motifs. We plan to do something every term from clean ups, performances, cooking or gardening.”
Chad Fowkes, student and winner of this year’s OAT Chairman’s Volunteer Award, is helping to lead the project with Miss Hill. Chad said: “It’s all about young people giving something back to the community and hopefully some of the things that we will be doing will help to make their futures better.
“I think it’s important to show that young people do care and that we want to make a difference.
“We have an #iwill steering group made up of students and Miss Hill and we are coming up with other ideas. As well as the litter pick we are looking to hold a community Christmas dinner for the homeless later in the year.”
Kerry Dungavel, Service Manager for Derbyshire Homeless Services, said: “A lot of the students come from the area and wanted to have pride in where they live. The school asked us to take part as they also wanted to involve the wider community, highlighting our service and homelessness.”
The amazing #will work taking place in our academies is the result of Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT) securing £2 million of funding from the #iwill fund and national charity Ormiston Trust to help young people become involved in youth social action. For more on the #iwillfund click here.
Category: News
Tags: #iwill, Community, Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy
