Charities targeting young people

Kathryn Senior discusses how charities work to get young people more involved.

''Oxfam also has hundreds of shops that sell second-hand goods to raise money and these are very popular with students who, like many young people, like to express themselves through fashion.'' ''One of the strongest memories I have from being at primary school is dressing up in the costume of another culture and talking about another country every UNICEF day.'' ''Charities such as UNICEF give children an opportunity to voice their opinions and become actively involved in activities and events such as Youth Voice and programmes in schools such as People and Planet Sixth Form groups.''

I have read several articles recently concerning the involvement of young people in campaigning, and charities in general, and it has become obvious that there are many different opinions on how charitable young people are.

I think that the involvement of young people in campaigning and charity work is less about donations and more about awareness and involvement. The Make Poverty History campaign used the original idea of Live Aid to stage the Live8 concerts that was watched by 8 billion people. 8 million people wore white wristbands to show their support and over 3 million made “buddies” as part of the Global Campaign for Education’s ‘Send my Friend to School’ campaign. A large number of those wearing wristbands and making “buddies” were younger people, including several friends of mine, and this shows that raising awareness through music and media appeals to young people and so is a good way to get them involved. Great support was raised for the campaign and many more young people were made aware of the situation in Africa and other developing countries.

There are a number of charities that I have come across that are very effective at getting young people involved. This website, for example, encourages young people to get involved through writing about important issues and through music (e.g. festival campaigning/stewarding). Personally I have learnt a lot more about the important issues that Oxfam is concerned with through writing for this website. Oxfam also has hundreds of shops that sell second-hand goods to raise money and these are very popular with students who like to express themselves through fashion. Charities are aware of this and are getting creative in how they campaign, using methods that will allow young people to express themselves – for example using logo t-shirts and wristbands.

Campaigning through the media, adverts, documentaries, charity concerts and events are effective because they are part of youth culture, but this is not the only way to engage young people. I have come across charities such as UNICEF that give children an opportunity to voice their opinions and become actively involved in activities and events such as Youth Voice and programmes in schools such as People and Planet Sixth Form groups. Oxfam also works with People and Planet and has its own Youth Board. These groups allow their members to meet other like-minded young people and teach them about the issues they are concerned with and encourage them to get more involved.

One of the strongest memories I have from being at primary school is dressing up in the costume of another culture and talking about another country every UNICEF day. It helped me feel a lot more involved and I learnt so much about other countries, I’d love to hear from anyone who also remembers these days really clearly. Not only were they fun but also they were educational, and I think that is why they were so effective.