We were thrilled to be recognised by a local school last week, when students from Riverside Campus School in Barking chose to support Sycamore Trust UK as part of their First Give programme 2019, which is kindly sponsored by the Jack Petchey Foundation.
First Give is a secondary school programme that gets an entire year group engaging in social action. Students learn about social issues and research charities working in their communities before choosing one to represent. Charities are invited in to meet the class, so that students can learn more about their work and how to help them and at the School Final, teams present to a panel of judges. The class who has engaged best with the First Give programme wins £1,000 for their charity.
Year 12 students took part in their School Final at Riverside Campus School just before Christmas and there were some wonderful presentations with the Sycamore Trust winning the £1,000 prize in the face of some very stiff competition.
Steve Dixon from the Sycamore Trust spoke to the Year 12 students as part of their project and attended the School Final. He said; “we are delighted to win the £1,000 First Give award. The presentations were first class, and apart from the money, which is very much appreciated, it’s great to see students learning about local issues and raising awareness of local charities.”
Isaac Jones, Head of Programmes said: "The First Give programme at Riverside School was an inspiration. Across the whole of Year 12, students had organised a range of different social action projects, and raised a combined £400 to support their chosen charities. Most impressive though, was the student's commitment to, and passion for the charities. At First Give we believe that if you give young people the opportunity to do good, they will absolutely run with it. The students here demonstrated just that."