Celebrating its 35th Anniversary this year, this invaluable charity has supported over 650,000 young people across Scotland. Discover how The Princes Trust literally changes lives and how your support today is invaluable.
The Prince's Trust was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1976 and aims to help disadvantaged young people aged between 13 and 25 to change their lives and get into employment, education, training or volunteering. They run a range of programmes to develop employment skills while boosting self confidence and self-worth. They help young people to set realistic goals that will enable them to get on and stay on the right path. With their support, they can achieve a life that many of us take for granted - financial security, a happy home life and a job they enjoy.
In 2011, The Prince's Trust Scotland will support around 4,500 young people in moving their lives forward and they know their programmes are making a lasting difference. Over 80% of the young people they worked with in last year moved on to a positive destination.
The young people The Trust works with are eager and willing to work; they want the opportunity to engage with employment and training, and essentially get on and stay on the right track.
The Trust celebrates its 35th Anniversary this year and is immensely proud to have supported over 650,000 young people in moving their lives forward. Many of The Trust's programmes are as relevant today as they were 35 years ago and continue to produce real results for Scotland's young people.
The Team programme is a 12 week personal development programme which in Scotland alone has supported almost 13,000 young people in moving on to a positive destination and has worked on over 2,000 community based projects. The countless hours of volunteering the young people have contributed to communities across Scotland has had an immeasurable impact on local causes and demonstrates the real difference the young people can and do make when they are given the chance to shine.
The Trust's Get Into programmes will help over 330 young Scots start careers in cooking, retail, cars, social care, security and youth work this year, giving them access to continually growing sectors and providing them with the building blocks for a sustainable future. The xl programme will support around 2,000 young people in re-engaging with education and encouraging them to make the most of their time in formal education, promoting confidence and citizenship with the aim of keeping them in school and preventing them leaving with no qualifications.
Over 600 Development Awards will be granted this year, providing young people with grants of between £50 and £500, helping them overcome the financial barriers to success; whilst the Get Started programme will help some of Scotland's hardest to reach young people re-engage with training and development through environment and media based initiatives. The Enterprise programme encourages young people interested in self employment to explore this route and find out if this is the right move for them. Since it launched, around 80 young people have participated in the programme and a number of successful small businesses have been established.
Demand for Prince's Trust programmes has never been higher as young people look for opportunities to engage and develop their skills. Scotland's young people have immense potential and The Prince's Trust is committed to ensuring that the unemployed young people of today don't become the unemployed generation of tomorrow.
Contact Julie Campbell
T. 0141 225 3381
E. julie.campbell@princes-trust.org.uk
Case Studies
Jade Brown
In 2007, Jade sustained serious injuries to her knee as a result of an accident leading to time out of school. This, coupled with her being a carer, meant her studies suffered.
She joined xl and was an active member from the outset. Jade took the lead on fundraising and community initiatives, as well as an animation project with the BBC, which is being used to engage new xl members.
Jade was selected as a representative for Inverclyde on a Tall Ships initiative, taking part in a voyage from Denmark to Norway and she took full responsibility for fundraising for the trip. She also volunteers and raises funds for a Children's Community Centre and Inverclyde Royal Hospital. Jade worked hard on her higher and hopes to go onto university to study Social Care and plans to become a social worker.
Peter Sweeney
From a young age, Peter Sweeney's life was extremely disjointed and he spent his time living between relatives in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, attending seven different schools.
At secondary school, Peter became involved with gangs and alcohol and drug abuse and was expelled in his fourth year. He had been involved with the police and in 2009 was stabbed and witnessed his friend's murder.
He broke away from his gang when he joined The Trust's Get Started in the Environment programme. He then joined Team before completing Get into Youth Work.
Peter completed HNC in Outdoor Education so he can combine his passions for the outdoors and youth work. He is keen to use his own experiences to warn other young people of the dangers of gang culture and help them stay on the right track.
Heather Johnston
At 16, Heather Johnston from Edinburgh found herself homeless, moving from hostel to hostel and becoming increasingly caught up in a dangerous lifestyle and started a turbulent relationship with an older man.
When she fell pregnant with her daughter, she decided to turn her life around. She initially struggled to get a place at college and joined The Trust's Team programme.
Heather excelled on her work placement and achieved top marks in the modules she completed on Team, impressing her leader so much , she was invited back to be an Assistant Team Leader. She is also now a Young Ambassador and has attended a number of events speaking about her experiences with The Trust.
She has recently started the Youth and Communities course at College and is looking forward to a positive future for herself and her daughter.
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