An American volunteering scheme which counts Barack Obama as one of its biggest supporter is coming to Islington.
City Year will see young people, or ‘corps members’, working for ten months in various schools within Islington as tutors, mentors and role-models. Wearing their distinctive red uniform, volunteers will organise and run after-school programmes and community projects.
Habiba, 22, an Islington resident currently part of the City Year pilot scheme sees the importance in helping local children.
“I have lived in Islington all my life and I have a lot of family around, so I thought ‘why not help in my local area?’ I know that a lot of young children need help in Islington,” she said.
Habiba is hoping that her involvement in the full project, which begins in September, will help her pursue a teaching career in the future.
“I am interested in teaching and this is a great opportunity to get more experience in a classroom. However, the scheme is not just for those that want to be a teacher, as it is an opportunity to develop teamwork and leadership skills that will help all of us in the future. It’s a life-changing experience.”
President Obama regularly backs of volunteering initiatives in America, and Habiba would like to see similar support shown in the UK.
“It would be great if some politicians got involved with City Year. There has been a lot of talk about a movement back to national service for young people, and City Year would be a good way of implementing such a scheme. It is a project which shows society and politicians that young people are not selfish. We get a lot of bad press but hopefully a project like City Year will bring about a change in people’s attitudes.”
This seems like a good scheme – I would think that given the current job market for graduates, this would be a great way to get experience while doing something productive for the community.