National Citizen Service (NCS)

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I first heard about the National Citizen Service (NCS) when I was working in a local secondary school and have always thought of it as something that I would love my children to do. My daughter is now in year 9 so still 2 years away from being able to take part but I will be encouraging her to sign up for it as soon as she is eligible!

So what is the NCS and what makes me want my children to take part? Here is what the people at NCS says about it:

NCS is a government backed programme established in 2011 to help build a more cohesive, mobile and engaged society. By bringing together young people from different backgrounds for a unique shared experience, NCS helps them to become better individuals, and in turn better citizens.

NCS is open to 16 and 17 year-olds across England and Northern Ireland. The two to four week programme, which takes place in school holidays, includes outdoor team-building exercises, a residential for participants to learn ‘life skills’, a community-based social action project and an end of programme celebration event. 

At a time of huge political uncertainty, where division is more evident than togetherness, NCS is a powerful tool to ensure the next generation see more in their similarities than differences.

I feel my daughter would benefit from taking part in the challenging activities on offer on the NCS programme. She has tried some of them before but its good to face your fears and get out of your comfort zone. I know that I feel better for conquering my fear of heights when doing high ropes or abseiling:

I know that in Guides and on PGL holidays I loved the waterspouts elements. We have had a taster day as a family and my daughter loved this part of a school residential. My son has never been as keen on water based activities but he is a strong swimmer so by the time he is old enough to participate I hope he would enjoy them more! Some other children haven't had the chance to enjoy the fun that being on the water can be:

Reasons to be Cheerful: A week of cheer! #R2BC

Are we really almost half way through December already? I can't believe in less than a fortnight it will be Christmas Day! At least there are plenty of festive frolics to make me cheerful now. I am also watching season 2 of the Crown as I type which I am thoroughly enjoying! Here are my 7 main reasons to be cheerful this week:
1) Community Coffee Morning 

We had a Christmas coffee morning as a community as we had Big Lottery fund money left over from our playground opening in the summer. One of our residents is a professional cook and she made all these wonderful goodies for us to enjoy:

2) Magical Kendal

Whilst out to scope out shots for our latest Fell running video I saw how magical Fletcher Park was looking in the wintry light:

3) Fabulous Frost

Reasons to be Cheerful: All Sorts #R2BC

This is the kind of week that reasons to be cheerful is made for when lots of things have gone wrong so you need to focus on the positives to lift your spirits! So its good to be back hosting the linky so I can post these reasons to be cheerful:
1) Pokemon Go Raiding
Thanks to a chance conversation in a shop we joined in with 2 group raids capturing our first legendary Pokemon! Looks like this will keep us out of mischief for a while:

2) House Sorting

I am enjoying having time to catch up on housework and get the house better organised. Quite a bit of decluttering and I am selling some now redundant bits of furniture. Hopefully end up before September with a house I can be a lot more proud of:

3) Orchid

This beautiful orchid was a leaving present from school and its looking gorgeous on my window sill:

Reasons to be Cheerful: A wet one #R2BC

Its hard to be cheerful when my adopted county has been hit by a major natural disaster. But what as shone through is the community spirit that has emerged from the flood waters. So my reasons to be cheerful this week is all about the things that raised our spirits when things were bad:
1) Emergency services and voluntary organisations
Our local emergency services and voluntary organisations worked tireless throughout the weekend to rescue people, livestock and property. Floods, landslides and broken bridges didn't stop them doing what they have trained to do. We even had the RNLI and International Rescue Corps travelling long distances to bring their specialist equipment and training:

2) Making Do
In the street round from our house the manhole covers had popped so the locals used their wheelie bins to stop accidents until the authorities could barricade it off properly:

3) Generosity

People and churches are donating plenty of things to help those who have lost their homes or who need something simple like ways to clean up the damage:

4) Going above and beyond

Builders such as Eddie Lord, Kieran Bland and Craig Capstick have brought their pumps to get rid of water and all at no cost to the victims. They came today to rescue our estate: 

5) Helping out

The builders working on our estate went off and got sandbags using their forklift so that residents were protected from the rising water:

Why are you smiling this week? Please link your posts and grab the badge...

  <center> <a href="http://beckywilloughby.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Reasons to be Cheerful" src="http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/o585/LakesMum/6894b786-0238-4650-8556-714fdbb64aa2_zpsef0827cd.jpg"/></a></center>

The Co-operative in the community

In 1844 a group got together in Yorkshire and formed the Rochdale Pioneers and established the first successful co-operative. This movement has gone from strength to strength and in the 21st century now has 6 million members and a total of 5,000 outlets. These are no longer just for food retail but also financial services, pharmacies, funeral services and travel agents. 

The movement is so successful that every year The Co-operative supports thousands of initiatives across the United Kingdom and further afield. This has been hi-lighted by an advertising campaign this month emphasising both the long heritage and  the current impact the Co-operative is having on local revolutions. It is actually an advert that I can remember seeing myself in the last few days.

Are you aware of any projects near to you that have benefited from the revolution? Maybe your project could do with some help? Join the revolution.

In Cumbria one project that has benefited is the  UK’s first community owned wind farm, Baywind Energy Co-operative was established in 1996. The project has always favoured local investors, that way the economic benefits of the wind farm are kept within the community it serves.

In 1998 Baywind secured a loan from The Co-operative Bank to purchase two turbines for their Harlock Hill site. It has also received several grants from The Co-operative Enterprise Hub to develop new, co-operatively owned wind farms across the UK.

Baywind now typically generates around 10,000MWh of electricity each year – enough to power around 30,000 homes. And along with educational visits throughout the year, it funds environmental books for local schools. 

 

Through their Enterprise Hub, the Co-operative actively promotes the development of co-operative businesses around the globe. They invest £7 million a year in some of the world’s poorest countries to support initiatives that will benefit farmers, their families and the entire community.

 

In Kenya, for example, they have worked with The Co-operative College and The Co-operative Food, to help over 10,000 smallholder tea farmers to organise into co-operatives.

 

This has increased their negotiating power and provided access to markets previously closed to them. It has also helped them to achieve Fairtrade certification, so they can supply tea for our ‘99’ Fairtrade tea blend. All of which means they will now get a fair return for their crop.

the Co-op's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TheCooperative?v=info

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