Minister for Civil Society praises Giving Nation Social Action awards

On Tuesday Nick Hurd spent the afternoon at HM Treasury with over 40 young people from seven secondary schools to commend them on their outstanding commitment to charity and community activity. Immediately after the event Nick commented (via twitter):

'Very pleased to give Giving Nation Awards to schools. Winners
raised 27K! Room full of young people having fun and making a
difference.'

Taking a break from the imminent spending review, Nick presented six school groups with £500 to enable them to continue their social action activities which have so far generated an impressive £50,000 over the past year.

Each school spoke about their charitable and community activities which included a 'battle of the bands' charity concert; turning their local street 'pink for a day' in aid of Breast Cancer Campaign and going the extra mile to support vulnerable people in their communities by organising collections and Christmas hampers.

During their speech, a student from Haslingden School from Lancashire explained what they plan to do with the prize money:

'Giving it to a charity? No, too simple! We have decided to try
and double this money by making jewellery, festive cards and
having a bake-a-thon during the Christmas period'

Students from Queen Elizabeth II High School from the Isle of Man were crowned the Most Outstanding School 2010 and won a life-changing trip to the Gambia with charity Concern Universal. During the trip, students will experience rural community life and gain a deeper understanding about the role they can play in the global movement to challenge poverty and inequality.

Hundreds of schools entered the Giving Nation Social Action Awards 2010 by filling in online dairies to record their activities, they also received support from the Giving Nation team including start-up grants for social action activities, access to a charity database and teaching resources.

Lesley Sleight, a Teacher from Queen Elizabeth II High School said,

'When the school previously ran charity mufti-days the
students used to think more about what they were going to wear
than what was happening to their donations. Getting the students
to record their activities on the Giving Nation site made them
think about wider issues and in particular, the needs of others'

The awards ceremony was a great end to a fantastic day which included an activity filled boat trip on the Thames. For many of the students, it was the first time they had ever been to this famous London landmark or heard Big Ben chime.

The team would like to thank all who made this event possible which includes the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, Hodder Education, Charity Vouchers and Feel Good Drinks Co.