NCS: Students make donation

Great North Air Ambulance receive NCS support

The Easter intake of NCS students, from Caldew School just outside Carlisle, handed over a cheque for £500 to the Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA) last week as part of a wider effort to put something back into the local community as they go through the National Citizen Service programme with the club.

This initial donation, funded by the FA Community Shield distribution scheme, has helped the students to kick off their own fundraising campaign for the GNAA, which is set to gather pace as the course heads towards its conclusion in a few months time.

Carlisle United’s NCS coordinator John Sander said: “We have 17 students from Caldew School who have been through three phases of the NCS programme so far.

“Part of that programme asks them to look at ways of giving something back to their local community. They met with the Great North Air Ambulance and immediately decided that was a cause they would like to help. 

“The club were fantastic in kicking things off for the students when they decided to give a large portion of the money they receive from the FA Community Shield fund to their fundraising efforts for this wonderful cause. The students will also be doing a fundraiser for the same cause on 12 July at the Carlisle United Fun Day.

“One of the key elements of the NCS scheme is for the students to get behind a local project and support it as much as they can. A key message throughout the course is to get them to look at ways of putting something back into the community so that they can make a difference. These students took the GNAA to their hearts and I know they have felt really proud about being able to donate a sum of money like this.”

“The NCS course is new at Carlisle United but it’s going very well,” he explained. “We’re booked up for summer and autumn and the students have been absolutely superb. They get the practical aspects of the course, to add to the studying they do, and I think that’s priceless for them. The feedback from the course has been fantastic and hopefully we’ll keep going from strength to strength.”

Click HERE to see a video interview with John Sander on our YouTube channel.

Click HERE to see the full interview on United Player.

For more information on the Great North Air Ambulance, click HERE.

For more information on NCS, and to join the schemes, click HERE.
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