How to become a Youth Social Action Ambassador

Our volunteers have been hanging out with Royalty.

vInspired's Cashpoint superstar, Prince Ahmed, became our Youth Social Action Ambassador for a day. His duty was to attend a lunch date with HRH Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. Cucumber sandwiches anyone?

Prince represented us at the launch of the Step Up To Serve campaign. He joins Prince Charles, David Cameron and some of Britain's most important people. We're all working to show what young volunteers do for the good of the country.

Prince Ahmed took a break from Buck House tea to tell us how he became a social action champ.

What motivated you to set up your own social action project?

As a volunteer at Tower Hamlets Council I became heavily involved with a mix of young people from my borough. Many young people were falling through the net, simply because they didn't have a support system. To tackle this problem I decided a grass roots intervention project was needed.

How did you go about starting it?

I used my experience as a volunteer to organise my own small community projects. One of these was a football training scheme funded by vInspired’s Cashpoint programme. I was rewarded a £500 Cashpoint grant to start Prince’s Football Scheme. It's a project that connects local young people with coaches from West Ham United FC. I used the project as an outreach system to connect with young people before they fell through the net. I also got a v100 award for my volunteering hours.

What do you think the barriers are for young people wanting to become more socially active?

Poverty is a classic barrier that prevents many young people engaging in social action. It's hard to get involved in community projects when dealing with financial pressures. Plus recent cuts in funding led to many community groups closing down, reducing the local volunteering opportunities for young people.

How would you get more young people involved in social action?

I would start more local community groups to improve community cohesion. Supporting the creation of stronger community ties would encourage young people to get involved more, as they would feel like valued members of their communities.

At a national level I think more emphasis needs to be placed on social action. Campaigns like Step up to Serve are needed regularly to encourage young people to get involved in their communities.

Favourite inspirational quotes?

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” - Maria Robinson

Have you made your pledge to Step Up To Serve?