Hackney school girls win big for Volunteering Matters and Positive Futures

On Friday 13th March, three school girls from Cardinal Pole Catholic School celebrated a big win when they were announced as runners-up in their school competition, run by charity First Give, celebrating the work of Volunteering Matters (formerly CSV) in the Hackney area.

First Give is a charity that works in partnership with secondary schools to help young people to give their time, tenacity and talents to improve their local communities.

Assiba Kouakou (14), Michelle Attakora-Bonsu (15) and Lakeeva Mendes (15) all from Hackney and Homerton, who have been volunteering on Volunteering Matters’ Positive Futures programme since the start of the year, have experienced first hand the benefits of volunteering and the work Volunteering Matters and Positive Futures are doing for Hackney.

Positive Futures is a youth volunteering project ran by Volunteering Matters which provides a wide range of opportunities for young people aged 13 – 25 in Hackney. The project enables them to connect with the community by tackling local issues including working on environmental campaigns and befriending isolated people in the area. It enhances skills in young people and reduces stereotypes.

Through Positive Futures, Assiba, Michelle and Lakeeva have volunteered on ‘The Connect Project’, a project teaching I.T skills and social media to elderly people from Wayside Community Centre.

Michelle Attakora-Bonsu (15) said:

“We are thrilled to win the runner-up prize for Volunteering Matters. We love volunteering on Positive Futures as it’s made us feel much more confident. We’ve also really enjoyed meeting elderly people in the area through The Connect Project; we’ve learned a lot by getting to know them and it’s been really nice for us to teach them about social media. Volunteering Matters is a great thing for Hackney and we are so happy to help celebrate the work they do and hopefully encourage more young people to volunteer!”

The First Give Final was held at Cardinal Pole Catholic School on Friday 13^th March. The first stage took place on Friday 27^th February which required each group to give a small presentation to their form- the girls stormed through to the second round competing against six other form groups within the school and produced a video which highlighted the work of Volunteering Matters and Positive Futures.

First Give’s vision is to help build a new generation of motivated and switched-on young people who want to use their skills to support local charities and make the lives of others in and around their communities better. The First Give Programme is delivered through a fully resourced scheme of work that is interactive and student-led and offered to schools free of charge.

For more information about the Positive Futures project, please contact Project Manager Kerry Alexander-Pearson:
kerry.alexander-pearson@volunteeringmatters.org.uk
0203 780 5870 / 07432 127 906 

For all press enquiries please contact Amanda Francis at CSV:
amanda.francis@volunteeringmatters.org.uk
020 3780 5880 / 07754698854