On Monday Holly and Phillip launch our extraordinary You Can Be Heroes Week with the help of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

Determined to sustain the positive atmosphere and pride that was felt throughout the UK during the successful 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Prince Charles, together with This Morning, hopes that the Great British public can maintain and build on the incredible goodwill and enthusiasm generated by the Games-makers and its vital volunteers.

During our You Can Be Heroes Week viewers will witness what goes on within some of The Prince’s Charities, see the work the volunteers carry out and learn how they can volunteer in their local area too.

Holly says: "Last year the whole country came together to cheer on our Team GB Olympic and Paralympic Heroes. But, a hero of another kind emerged - those who gave up their time to volunteer.”

Phillip adds: “I have previously carried out some volunteer work so I’ve witnessed firsthand how giving just a small amount of your time and effort really does make a huge difference to others in need.”

 

The Prince’s Trust

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps disadvantaged young people to get their lives on track. It
supports 13 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of
exclusion.

Many of the young people helped by The Prince’s Trust are in or leaving care, facing
issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or they have been in trouble with the
law. The Trust’s programmes give vulnerable young people the practical and financial support
needed to stabilise their lives, helping develop self-esteem and skills for work. Three in four
young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training. The Prince
of Wales’s charity has helped more than 700,000 young people since 1976 and supports 100
more each day.

In the year ahead, The Trust aims to support 55,000 vulnerable young people across the UK, helping to give them the skills and confidence to find a job.

The Trust values the support of almost 6,000 volunteers who make up 80% of the organisation. Volunteers support young people in a variety of ways – through mentoring, working in our offices or on Prince’s Trust programmes.

 

Youth United

Youth United is a network of the UK’s largest and most established voluntary and volunteering youth
organisations. It was established by HRH The Prince of Wales and is supported by The Prince of
Wales’s Charitable Foundation.

Members include the Army Cadets, Air Cadets, Fire Cadets, St John Ambulance, Voluntary Police
Cadets, Sea Cadets, Scouts, Girl Guiding UK, Girls’ Brigade and Boys’ Brigade.

Working together, they aim to:

  • Increase the number of adult volunteers supporting member organisations
  • Increase opportunities for young people to be viewed positively and as active citizens contributing to society
  • Attract funding and make better use of resources
  • Find out how to volunteer with Youth United

Thank you to all the staff and volunteers at Safeside for allowing us to film at the facility with Youth United. Safeside, although run by The West Midlands Fire Service is also heavily reliant on volunteers for its everyday work educating local schoolchildren and youth organisations about a whole range of safety and first aid techniques.

For more information about visiting Safeside or its facilities, go to: www.safeside.org.uk

Or if you are interested in Volunteering at Safeside or for the West Midlands Fire Service, you could visit the following links:

 

Business in the Community

Business in the Community is a business-led charity focused on promoting responsible business
practice. We have a growing membership of over 850 companies and a further 10,700 companies engaged in our campaigns globally.

Our members help to transform communities by tackling key social and environmental issues and in doing so, transform themselves. One of the easiest and most effective ways for a business to make a sustained positive impact in a local area is to support staff to volunteer their time, skills and expertise to local projects making a difference. We connect volunteers from businesses with projects around the country all year round - focusing on areas with the greatest need.

Business in the Community is one of the Princes Charities, a group of 17 charities of which HRH The Prince of Wales is President.


Bulwell Community Toy Library

Bulwell Community Toy Library has been around for over 34 years. It began life as a toy library where parents can borrow a toy for a small fee, but its services have grown to give families a huge variety of help and support, including play sessions for babies and toddlers and after school activity sessions for older children.

 

About Play England

Play England is the national organisation that campaigns for freedom to play. Our vision is for England to be a country where all children and young people can fully enjoy their right to play throughout their childhood and teenage years. The Love Outdoor Play campaign is central to our work to increase freedom to play. As well as spreading the word about the importance of outdoor play for children, families and communities, the campaign is calling on everyone to do something to make sure that more children can play out where they live.

And this initiative is not exclusive to England, there are similar schemes in other parts of the UK: