National Citizen Service

v and the DKH Legacy Trust will give hundreds more young people the chance of a Summer of a Lifetime in 2012, as they join forces to deliver National Citizen Service programmes for a second year.

The charities' NCS programme, Summer of a Lifetime, gave hundreds of young people the opportunity to learn new skills, make friends from different backgrounds and create positive projects for their communities this summer. They have been re-selected as a delivery partner because of their strong track record in engaging and motivating young people to take part in volunteering and community action.

v will manage the partnership and coordinate the delivery of 1,230 programme places through its national network of partners. v's local partners bring varied experience, including from the voluntary sector, further education colleges and local authorities.

The DKH Legacy Trust will bring a network of Olympic, Paralympic and world sporting champions who will be deployed to inspire groups of young people to undertake their National Citizen Service. Many of their sporting champions have a level 3 mentoring qualification and are well placed to work alongside local partners to support local recruitment, community projects and graduation events.

Dame Kelly Holmes says: "I am delighted that my charity, the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, is once again partnering with v to run part of the National Citizen programme in 2012. I visited a group in Harrow on last year's National Citizen Service programme and I saw first-hand just how much of a positive impact it had and how empowered the young people all felt to go on and do positive things with their lives.

"I believe The National Citizen Service provides young people with a unique opportunity. This programme engages them in physical challenges and allows them to communicate and integrate with other young people whilst planning and delivering projects that will benefit communities. I am very excited about continuing our partnership and believe we can make this an unrivalled experience for young people."

DKH Legacy Trust CEO Julie Whelan says: "It is a real pleasure to be working with v on the National Citizen Service in 2012. By working with a range of local partners, we have been able to reach thousands of young people all over the country. Next year's programme promises to be even better where we can create life chances for even more young people through the support of our athlete mentors."

Terry Ryall, v Chief Executive, says: "Together with our local partners, we have given hundreds of young people across the country the Summer of a Lifetime. They have had the chance to develop social and practical skills and use their creativity to do something good for their communities. All of which will help them to build their confidence and to recognise what they have to offer society. We are delighted that we will be able to provide this opportunity for hundreds more young people next summer."

Vivek Patel, 16, took part in the Summer of a Lifetime project in Harrow. He says: "It has been a great experience helping the community in ways such as gardening, helping the homeless and many other exciting things. I would definitely recommend to anyone in the future."

v and DKH Legacy Trust's partners are:

• Bradford Council
• Canal Boat Project (Halton)
• CSV (Bradford, Newcastle, South Tyneside and Sunderland)  
• East Durham College
• Harrow Council
• Headliners UK
• Hertfordshire Council
• Learning Partnerships (Leeds)
• North Tyneside Voluntary Organisations (VODA) (North Tyneside)
• The British Red Cross (Shropshire and Staffordshire)
• Staffordshire County Council
• Staffordshire Council of Voluntary Youth Services
• Voluntary Organisations Development Agency (Tyneside)
• Warrington Youth Club
• Stoke and North Staffordshire YMCA
• Youth Federation (Cheshire, Wirral)

National Citizen Service is a Big Society initiative, supporting young people from all backgrounds to work together, take on new challenges and make a difference. It is a voluntary programme for 16 year olds and includes fun and challenging activities, away from home residential experiences and a self-designed social action project. The National Citizen Service aims to promote a more cohesive, responsible and engaged society by bringing young people from different backgrounds together to make a difference in their communities. Twelve pilot projects will run across England in summer 2011 giving 11,000 young people the chance to take part.