Paul
volunteers for Nacro’s sport in the community project in East Manchester. He
joined the project when he was 15 because he was disengaged with school and was
starting to get involved in antisocial behaviour.
“My involvement with Nacro began when I started going to football activities,
and then one of the project workers suggested that I should volunteer for the
project. At first I helped organise and run activities with the project staff
and then I progressed to forming my own 5-a-side football team and managing them
in a local league.
“I now run coaching
sessions in local schools and youth centres and organise football tournaments,
to give young kids in the local area something to do and help steer them away
from trouble.
“I've been volunteering more than four years now and it’s really given me a
chance to turn my life around and improve my confidence and skills. This year I
won the Nacro National Volunteer of the Year Award and was invited to a special
reception at Buckingham
Palace with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, in honour of the work of
volunteers.
“When I was a bit younger, I didn't really care about what trouble I got into.
But volunteering showed me the damage I was doing, and has allowed me to put
something back into the community. I advise the young people I come into to
contact through Nacro, to not go down the road I went down,
I hope I can help them before
it's too late. I can honestly say that if it hadn't
been for Nacro and Roy Thickett at the East Manchester project, I don't think
I'd be here today.”
Roy Thickett, who runs the East Manchester Sports Project, is delighted
by what Paul has achieved and is full of praise for him:
"When Paul originally came along to play football with us I could see he was a
good lad and had real potential. We put him on the volunteer programme and he
trained to become a football coach.
"Paul set up a football team at a school for children with behavioural problems
and has also taken teams to sports events he’s organised in Latvia and Portugal.
“Paul has put in over 2,000 hours of community work in east Manchester. He is an
ideal role model for all the young people he works with."