In today’s match against Birmingham City, Reds in the Community and Barnsley Football Club will celebrate the impact that young people from local communities have had on NCS, a youth programme aimed at 16-17-year-olds.

The awareness raising campaign, #NCSMatchday, is organised by Reds in the Community who deliver NCS in Barnsley.  A handful of lucky Reds fans – who all spent their school holidays meeting new people, learning new skills and giving back to their community through the NCS programme are attending the game at Oakwell as special guests of the club to raise awareness of NCS. In 2019, young people from EFL Trust’s network delivered over 650 Social Action Projects, volunteered over 260,000 hours of social action and raised over £230,000 for local charities and causes.

The event, supported by Reds in the Community and Barnsley Football Club, is part of a wider EFL Trust (Charitable Arm of EFL) campaign that sees #NCSMatchday reach over 36 EFL and Premier League clubs across the country, highlighting the positive work that young people have done in their local community.

In 2019, #NCSMatchday reached over 2 million people, with over 450 football players across the country celebrating NCS and the young people who have given back to the local community.

NCS grad Ellie-Ja Goddard said: “NCS was one of the best experiences I have ever had and I would recommend it to everyone. It brought me into a new lifestyle and helped me in so many ways.

“The people are amazing. The organisation itself is amazing. Hopefully it will keep progressing in future years and will continue to help and open up more teenagers like me to experience lots of new opportunities.”

NCS is a flagship government initiative that provides young people aged 16-17 the chance to take on new challenges, experience exciting activities, make long-lasting friendships and develop vital skills that will support them later in life. Supporting young people’s transition to adulthood, the programme develops their strength of character, giving a sense of purpose, optimism and belonging.

Almost 600,000 young people have completed the NCS programme to date, giving up an incredible 14.5 million hours to social action projects since NCS started. To find out more and sign up, visit: www.wearencs.com.