Doing 'Good For Nothing'
v has launched the ‘Good For Nothing’ campaign to turn negative youth stereotypes on their head by showcasing four of its young volunteers who give up their time for free to benefit their community - putting a whole new meaning behind the concept ‘Good For Nothing’.
Running in the national press and appearing on the London Underground, the new campaign challenges the idea that young people are automatically associated with anti-social behaviour or crime and asks the public to pause for thought before they make a split second judgement on someone, based on age or appearance.
New research shows that 69% of British adults think that young people treat others with a lack of respect and consideration in public (State of the Nation, October 2009); 40% think teenagers have a predominantly negative impact on their community and one in ten adults overestimate youth crime by a staggering eight times (from findings commissioned by national charity Catch22 on behalf of The Philip Lawrence Awards, 2009). However, the latest statistics about youth behaviour actually tell a very different story. They reveal that 78% of 16-25 year olds do respect their elders; 48% of 16-25 year olds have given up their time to do something for the benefit of people in their local area (v’s, online youth insight project, Voicebox Stereotypes & labels, 2009) and young people are, in reality, more likely to be a victim of crime rather than a perpetrator (Joseph Rowntee Foundation: What and who it is we don’t trust, 2008).
Rosie Kilburn, 17, from Gloucester who features in the campaign is a case in point. Rosie set up an art auction to help support those affected indirectly by cancer after being diagnosed herself in Feb 2008. She has since raised over nine thousand pounds to fund her business ‘The Knock on Effect’ that now sells t-shirts in which all the proceeds are donated to cancer charities.
Rosie said of her involvement in the Good for Nothing campaign, ‘The messages [on our t-shirts] are designed to be positive, and I know they are also controversial. I didn’t want to shy away from telling people about cancer. Volunteering is a great way to help your community and I wanted to be part of Good For Nothing to send out a positive message about young people. I’m fed up of all the negative press we get.’
Tim Loughton MP, Conservative Shadow Minister for Children & Young People said: ‘It’s time to recognise that hundreds of thousands of young people give Britain something for nothing. Negative stereotyping is the psychology of laziness – we have to challenge it'.
Adding her support to the campaign, Dawn Primarolo, Children and Young People’s Minister said: “I welcome v’s new advertising campaign because hopefully it will make everyone think twice about young people before they believe in or contribute to the negative stereotyping. It is fantastic that almost half of all young people give up their free time to volunteer in their communities. A higher percentage of young people volunteer than in any other age group and it’s about time that we celebrate the positive contribution they make and recognise and reward them for their hard work and respect of others”.
Please click below to read the full case studies of the young volunteers who took part in the ‘Good For Nothing’ campaign;
To see behind the scenes film footage of the photo-shoot www.vinspired.com/goodfornothing
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