4-Year Campaign for Youth Social Action Engages 14,000 People

Over 14,000 young people in Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield were supported to take part in youth social action thanks to the #iwill Fund. Leeds Community Foundation awarded 67 grants totalling over £400,000 through the four-year programme. Funded activities included volunteering, fundraising and campaigning – projects that would build confidence and skills for young people to help their local communities. 

The #iwill Fund was part of a UK-wide campaign aiming to achieve the vision that ‘all children and young people should be supported and empowered to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and broader society’. 

The Fund, with investment from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and The National Lottery Community Fund, supported community organisation to deliver youth social action opportunities. There was a particular focus on working with young people who would not usually engage in social action. 

Through the last round of the #iwill Fund in 2020, Leeds Community Foundation funded 23 community organisations that supported 921 young people through their projects. The projects addressed one or more of the 6 principles of youth social action: reflection and learning, supporting ambition, being youth- led, impact for wider communities, linking to other opportunities and ideas, and embedding into everyday lives. 

One of the organisations funded was Bradford Community Broadcasting (BCB), a volunteer-led local radio station in central Bradford. They received a grant of £5,000 to work with 10 young people who had encountered disadvantage, supporting them to become volunteers at the radio station. 

The young people produced and presented radio programmes, gaining new skills and learning to work with the other volunteers, which gave them a clear role and purpose within the team. They were also linked in with other activities and opportunities, such as music lessons and contributing to the Bradford 2025 City of Culture bid. 

BCB were able to adapt during Covid-19 to deliver the broadcasting and programmes online. With wellbeing and social connections impacted by the pandemic, they learned how engage and support young people remotely. BCB hopes that most of the young people will continue as volunteers and feel empowered to engage in future opportunities around social action. 

While the Leeds Community Foundation #iwill Fund has come to an end, the #iwill Campaign continues on as the #iwill Movement. Organisations and young people that make up the movement are working to ensure more children and young people take part in social action and shape decisions in the public, private and voluntary sectors. You can find out more here.