Milton Keynes businesses urged to invest in charity that can help them employ the right young people

Businesses across Milton Keynes are being urged to invest in Action4Youth, a charity that will help them develop the committed and responsible workforce they need for the future.

The call has been issued by Melanie Beck, the Chief Executive of MyMiltonKeynes.

She says city businesses need to recognise the value to them of Action4Youth’s challenging education programmes.

“All business owners are very concerned about the incidence of antisocial behaviour, drugs, and knife carrying. Business understand that we have a whole generation of youngsters that face a great degree of challenges because of the pandemic, climate chance and the constraints on the public purse.

“Businesses want and need responsible, aware, committed employees. Through the programmes run by Action4Youth hopefully we will get more rounded and more committed individuals coming into the workplace because they have had experiences that have challenged them, and opportunities to get the support and mentoring which they have been lacking.”

The challenges, resilience and teamwork skills developed in young people of all backgrounds and through supported outdoor and adventure education at The Caldecotte Xperience is a key part of what Melanie sees as the value to businesses of Action4Youth’s work.

Melanie has taken up two roles at Action4Youth – as a Trustee and a member of the Appeals Committee spearheading a £1.4m redevelopment of the charity’s Caldecotte Xperience.

She says businesses must explore opportunities for them with Action4Youth. She believes the multiple opportunities for investment, volunteering, and sponsorship in the education programmes, capital project and in the youth of tomorrow provide something for every business, whatever its size to benefit.

“This is an opportunity for businesses to have lasting impact,” she said.

Action4Youth is an ambitious, proactive charity focused on driving forward the crucial youth agenda to transform lives for the better. Its ethos is that every child should have the opportunity to be heard, to be safe and to succeed.

The charity runs educational programmes with schools. One programme, Breakout supports young people to understand the risks and develop personal strength to withstand gang and knife culture, while The Inspiration Programme introduces young people to a wide range of future opportunities and skills.

Both use adventure education at The Caldecotte Xperience to challenge young people and develop resilience. Businesses can get involved in sponsoring these programmes in schools local to them, and by directly taking part to share their experiences and knowledge.

The charity also runs adventure education at The Caldecotte Xperience for individuals, groups, schools and all programmes are available to young people from all abilities.

At The Caldecotte Xperience Melanie sees different opportunities for businesses to become involved in the challenging world of adventure education – through sponsorship, corporate volunteering or donations to the redevelopment of the centre’s main building.

The latter is something which Melanie considers will have a major impact not just for young people from Milton Keynes but regionally. “The building badly needs investing in. Visits will be so much better for everybody when it is redeveloped. It will have more uses and allow Action4Youth to spread their wings in terms of the target audience.”

To explore the ideal opportunities for them, businesses are encouraged to get in touch with the charity here.