UK Youth and Volunteering Matters to deliver key support functions of the #iwill Partnership and movement

As the nation faces an unprecedented set of challenges, 2021 is a pivotal moment for the #iwill campaign. We are building on the achievements over the past seven years and growing the #iwill movement, because our shared values of collaboration, challenge, empowerment, independence and inclusion have never been more important.

Right now, children and young people are helping build a better future for us all. It’s time for them to be recognised as part of the solution. They have the energy, talent and ideas to make positive change and to lead.

The organisation leaders and young people who make up the #iwill movement will be continuing to grow their collective work into the new decade, with an even greater focus on reaching out and supporting young people from low-income and black and minority ethnic backgrounds to shape decisions and take positive social action.

Guided by the #iwill Partnership – a cross-sector, UK-wide collaboration with funders, young people and the co-chairs of nation and sector groups – they will work together in pursuit of their shared vision that‘all children and young people should be supported and empowered to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and broader society’.Over 100 organisations have already signed the Power of Youth Charter, committing to specific actions to make this vision a reality.

As a result of a 3-month competitive process, guided by young #iwill Ambassadors, funders involved in the #iwill campaign and Step Up To Serve trustees and staff, we are delighted to announce that the #iwill Partnership and movement will be supported by UK charities Volunteering Matters and UK Youth going forward. They have formed a consortium to deliver key support functions, which will include hosting an independent #iwill coordination hub as well as growing and engaging the #iwill Ambassador & Champion network. A delivery partner leading on evidence and insights to support the movement’s collective action will also be selected in due course.

This cross-sector consortium will aim to broaden the goals of #iwill with a greater focus on reaching and supporting young people from low-income and ethnic minority backgrounds to take part in social action activities, as well as increasing the leadership of young people across all levels of #iwill. Together we will aim to support young people using social action in their communities to inform decision-making across the UK.

The consortium will work towards collective goals with a commitment to share resources across the organisations for the good of the #iwill impact goals. Volunteering Matters and UK Youth will host an independent team across the partnership that will draw on our collective support, infrastructure, expertise and reach into the wider UK Volunteering/Civil Society Sector, the Youth/Children Sector and the formal education sector.

A small team of Step Up To Serve staff is supporting Volunteering Matters and UK Youth during January and February as they develop their new support functions.