Four pupils from year 8 at Christ the Word in Rhyl have been taking part in alternative education activities through volunteering with the Salvation Army.
The pupils were being supported with school attendance and attainment by the Council’s Llwybrau service which supports young people in Denbighshire to reduce their risk of disengagement from education, provide support to re-engage in education or to move into employment or training at the end of year 11. The overall aim is to tackle one of the main causes of long-term poverty.
The pupils were encouraged to volunteer with the Salvation Army by Llwybrau’s Education Engagement Officer in order to help them develop their numeracy, communication and social skills through meaningful activity.
Some of the volunteering activities they undertook included organising clothes and other resources that had been donated to the centre, labelling or putting prices on products to be sold at charity shops, organising food shelves to put everything in order ready for people collecting food parcels as well as cleaning duties.
The pupils have developed a strong work ethic as a result of this experience and enjoyed it so much that they committed to volunteering with the Salvation Army in their own time during the Easter holidays.
Major Chris Davidson, Rhyl Salvation Army Officer, said: “We were happy to accommodate the students in some of our many activities at the Salvation Army centre. After a brief introduction about what the Salvation Army stands for and what we do, the boys helped in the sorting room under the supervision of our volunteers. They really enjoyed helping out and their interaction with our volunteers was amazing; they really got on well, did what they were told and couldn’t be more helpful.
“I also took them to the shops to restock our food bank, explaining why we needed to help people and how they were referred to us by other organisations. After the boys had put the food on the shelves, they made up food bags ready to give out when needed. Once more they took to this really well.
“On their final volunteering session, one of the lads brought some food from home to put into the food bank and the group also gave some flowers to one of the volunteers for being so helpful and kind to them. They also asked if they could come in when they were on holiday!
“Georgina [Llwybrau Education Engagement Officer] has been a great support to them allowing them to learn and express themselves during their visits. It’s been a great time with them, and I believe they have benefitted so much from their time here.”
Geraint Davies, Denbighshire County Council’s Head of Education Services, said: “I was pleased to hear about the great work being done by this group of pupils from Christ the Word who are being supported to engage with their education. It is a testament to how knowledge and skills can be developed through a variety of methods, and clearly these boys have thrived by taking part in alternative education.
“I would like to thank Llwybrau for supporting these pupils in finding an appropriate volunteering opportunity to help them develop valuable skills for the future. I would also like to thank the Salvation Army and its volunteers for accommodating them and supporting their development; I hope that their hard work continues during their further volunteering with you over the school holidays.”
Llwybrau has received £1,308,418 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.