Thousands of teenagers from South Yorkshire are set to benefit from a new partnership between First South Yorkshire and the EFL Trust

This summer, EFL Trust (charitable arm of the EFL) and First South Yorkshire have announced a new partnership that will allow free and discounted travel for over 2,500 young people participating in the National Citizen Service (NCS) programme within South Yorkshire which includes Reds in the Community.

NCS is a two-four week part residential programme open to all 16-17 year olds during school holidays. Running across England and Northern Ireland, the programme aims to widen horizons, bridge social divides and create community cohesion whilst developing key skills for work and life. In the third phase of the programme, participants create a social action project in the local community around an issue they are passionate about and spend 30 hours implementing it. In summer 2015, young people of South Yorkshire contributed 100,000 hours of social action by fundraising for local charities, redeveloping outdoor spaces, taking part in intergenerational projects and community work.

The new partnership will benefit young people initially with free travel for two weeks to support them during the social action phase of NCS this summer. This will enable young people to travel around their local community with ease. If a young person has graduated from NCS, and they stay in education, they will be eligible for further discounted travel with First South Yorkshire using a South Yorkshire student pass.

First South Yorkshire, part of FirstGroup plc, are leaders in public transport welcoming almost 60 million customer journeys in South Yorkshire during 2015/16. EFL Trust are pleased to offer this fantastic service to NCS Participants, adding further value to what will be an amazing Summer.

Matt Handley, Regional Project co-coordinator for EFL Trust

“This is an exciting partnership with First South Yorkshire that will benefit thousands of young people participating in NCS and will ultimately benefit the local community. This partnership will reward young people for their hard work and dedication as well as being an invaluable tool for them when it comes to planning and delivering a social action project in their local community”.

First South Yorkshire’s Allan Riggall, Head of Commercial said,

“We are delighted to be working with the EFL Trust in supporting the NCS. Bus travel is an integral part of young people’s lives, and will give them the independence to travel around South Yorkshire safely and at affordable prices with our great value tickets for those in education. We look forward to hopefully extending this partnership beyond this current project and to help the participants of this scheme make a difference in their communities.”

This partnership with First South Yorkshire is set to begin next month. For further information on First South Yorkshire please visit www.firstgroup.com/south-yorkshire. NCS takes place with Reds in the Community outside of term time, and is open to all 15-16 year olds for no more than £50. In South Yorkshire the programme is run by the EFL Trust, for more information please visit http://www.ncsefltrust.co.uk.