Help the young

Supporting Archbishop’s plan

THE CHALLENGES facing young people grow more formidable with every passing year. On every front, from building a career to getting a foot on the property ladder, life for those leaving education can seem very daunting.

But with the right help, young people can build the happy and successful lives they hope for, and that is why the major fundraising drive launched by the Archbishop of York’s Youth Trust deserves the wholehearted support of everybody in our region.

Its laudable aim to raise £375,000 to extend its leadership courses for young people in the most deprived areas of the north offers exactly the right sort of support.

The trust’s work is already outstandingly successful, and casting its net wider offers hope to yet more areas very much in need of help.

The benefits the trust brings come at a very modest cost, which is yet another reason why it deserves support. The fact that only £25 can help to transform a life for the better ought to encourage organisations both large and small to get behind the initiative.

So too should the independent research from the University of Gloucestershire into the practical benefits of the programme. This is not just about personal development, important though that is.

It is also about making improvements to communities.

Dr John Sentamu makes the most telling of points when he says: “Young people are the answer and have the potential to change our world for the better.”

They are, characteristically, the wisest of words.