AGROUP of young people have been marking the Prince’s Trust Make a Change Week by taking part in the Good Soil project at Top Barn Farm, near Worcester.

The week-long event highlights the 20th anniversary of the youth charity’s Team programme which supports unemployed young people into work, education and training.

The group, who are in the process of completing the 12-week Team programme with Worcester College of Technology, are getting their hands dirty by harvesting crops, spreading mulch for fruit plants, levelling pathways, and even building worm farms at the Top Barn site at Holt Heath.

The work the young people have completed will help other organisations such as St Paul’s Hospice, the YMCA, Worcester Youth Offending Services and many others who will make use of the site in the future.

As part of the course, the young adults have also raised the money to support their work after researching projects in the area and deciding which would most benefit from their support.

After selecting the project, they generated an action plan, calculated how much money they would need to raise in order for them to buy the equipment and arranged the fund-raising activities to support the budget they felt they needed. The students raised the money by organising a car wash, a bag pack at a local supermarket and a sponsored walk over the Malvern Hills.

The 10 young people who form Princes Trust Team 141 joined the programme for a variety of reasons and each of them have very different aspirations for the future. Although the programme is structured towards self-development, the students work with a team ethos to complete all elements of the programme.

Team 141 member Katie Goodwin, aged 18, said: “I didn’t really understand how what we were doing at the Good Soil project would benefit other people, but after spending time there I learnt new skills and can now understand how the project will help offenders in the community.”

Chris Gittins, 17, another member, said: “I really enjoyed the project. It will be great to see the end result of our work at Top Barn and the benefits it will have for other young people in the area.”

The Team programme was launched in 1990 by HRH The Prince of Wales. The course, originally called the Volunteers programme, supported more than 50,000 young people in the first decade.

Today, more than 130,000 have completed the course, contributing more than 15 million hours of volunteering work in their local communities – work which would otherwise cost society an estimated £70 million.

The programme is designed to re-engage young people, helping them to think about their futures.

In many cases it changes their lives. It is run in 300 locations around the UK in partnership with organisations such as Worcester College of Technology.

Young people join a team of up to 15, where they learn the importance of teamwork, spend a week at a residential activity centre and complete projects in the community.

They also attend a work placement in an area of interest and stage a presentation during which they recount their experiences and outline their journey while on the programme.

Participants are encouraged to think about their future and prepare a post-programme action plan. This is completed with the ongoing support and guidance from a member of staff who, throughout the programme, helps the participants uncover hidden talent while also gaining valuable nationally recognised qualifications.

Wendy Bookham, Prince’s Trust team leader at Worcester College of Technology, said: “These young people, like so many before them, are gaining skills and increased confidence and motivation to support them into work, education and training.

“We are appealing to the public to make a change during Make a Change Week – give your change to make a change to a young person’s life.”

Gary Newbrook, course leader for the Team programme, said: “Worcester College of Technology has been a delivery partner of the Team programme for the past 15 years and, after 143 teams, is still going strong.

“We have a catalogue of success stories and are supported by a number of organisations across Worcestershire and Herefordshire who have seen the benefits that the programme has to offer young people. A lot of the students stay in touch after they have completed the programme and often ask for references for posts that they have applied for.

“A number have said that they did not have the confidence to apply for work before they attend the programme.

“One of the students from a past programme in Redditch is now a young ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and has met the Prime Minister as part of their role.

“Worcester College of Technology invests time in its staff and has supported the development of seven staff members who hold the post of assistant and team leader posts.

“We are the only delivery partner for the progamme within the county and as such delivery the programme in Worcester, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Evesham, Hereford and Kidderminster.”

For further information relating to the Prince’s Trust Team programme at Worcester College of Technology, e-mail princestrust@wortech.ac.uk or contact the Worcester Team on 01905 424132.

To find out more about the Prince’s Trust or to give a donation, contact 0800 842842 or go to princes-trust.org.uk.