As part of the build up to the Ambition AXA Awards to find the most outstanding contribution to the community by a young person, CSV’s Chief Executive, Lucy de Groot considers how driven young people are to make a difference.

All the evidence we have at CSV is that the desire to give to others can start at a very early age - and I’m not just talking about giving money. If you take a snapshot of who gives their time as volunteers as part of Make a Difference Day, which is the biggest single day of volunteering in the country, nearly half of those who take part are under 25 years including 14,000 children aged 11 or under.

While giving money undeniably helps charities tackle important causes from researching cures for cancer to providing homes for neglected animals, the gift of time is a uinquely personal and special experience. The simple act of using your technical know-how to help an elderly person learn to text or surf online can help them stay in touch with their loved ones bringing people closer together and making good use of your skills.

There is of course an old expression that says charity begins at home. We recently asked researchers to ask people of all ages about their family life as part of Make a Difference Day. Up to half of Britons aged 11 and above said they would like to spend more time together with volunteering as a family being one of the rewarding ways to do this.

Many people start volunteering through their school, youth group or university. In South Derbyshire the teenage cadets of the 1211 Swadlincote Air Squadron are a good example of keeping regular links with their local community. They’ve organised lunches for people attending the local day centre, tidied the local parish church and collected print cartridges, spectacles, mobile phones and books for re-use. What’s also impressive is that they made connections with a total of 17 charity partners and local community groups as part of their efforts to make a difference.

Older teenagers and young adults have also taken their own action to dispel negative labels that young people don’t care. When CSV volunteers asked 400 people of the same age, a third of their peers revealed they are concerned with issues around life skills and education. As part of this, respondents thought it was important to to tackle a range of issues that they were worried about such as teenage pregnancies, improving learning between generations, better drug awareness, money management and coping with the expense of going to university. Many were involved in giving time to tackle the pressing needs that they had identified and all the volunteers were determined to show that young people really do care.

Lucy de Groot, CSV Chief Executive

About the Ambition AXA Awards

The Awards which are targeted at 11-18 year olds have been created to recognise outstanding young people involved in The Arts, Community, Enterprise, Science and Sport.  The winner in each category receives a bespoke mentoring prize worth up to £40,000 per category to progress their ambitions so that they can continue to make that all important difference. Entries can be submitted up to 14th October 2011.

Please encourage young people you know to apply by visiting www.ambitionaxaawards.com or www.facebook.com/ambitionaxaawards