Young Firefighters share their passion with HRH the Prince of Wales at Llanelly House

​On the 28th February, HRH The Prince of Wales visited Young Firefighters at Llanelly House to learn about how they have been supporting events and open days within their local communities. The visit coincided with a roundtable for Welsh organisations that help young people get involved in social action hosted by Step Up To Serve, a National Campaign launched in November last year.

Young people from Hillside Secure Centre, Neath port Talbot ENGAGE project and Young Firefighters aged between 13 and 17 met HRH The Prince of Wales to talk about their interest in volunteering and getting involved in community events. The Young Firefighters who attended the event are amongst more than 200 Young Firefighters that meet at eleven Mid and West Wales branches for a ‘drill night’ one evening per week during school terms.

“Getting involved in courses delivered by the Fire and Rescue Service is a great way for boys and girls to build up life skills such as communication, team work, confidence and self-discipline through fire and rescue service-related activities, such as basic firefighting, general community safety and first aid” explained Elaine Williams. “HRH The Prince of Wales was very interested to learn how the young people are encouraged to promote awareness of road safety and home fire safety in the local community. The Young Firefighters scheme also allows young people to become involved in community engagement projects which engenders citizenship, something which he believes can offer a real boost for young people.”

Step Up To Serve was launched by HRH The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace in November 2013 as a new national Campaign to increase the number of young people taking part in social action across the UK to over 50% by 2020. It is a long-term, cross-sector transformation initiative that will unlock the potential of youth social action across the business, education, public and voluntary sectors.

“The roundtable event we hosted at Lanelly House involved the Welsh Government Third Sector Unit, GwirVol, Cwvys, DofE and Sports Leaders UK,” explains Rania Marandos. “We heard about some of the great youth social action that is already taking place in Wales. We also discussed some of the barriers that prevent young people from getting involved in social action and how Step Up To Serve can work with these important organisations in Wales to achieve our collective goal. We need their help in working towards our national goal of encouraging 1.7 million more young people aged 10 to 20 to make helping others a habit for life.”

You can find out more about Step Up To Serve and sign up to volunteer for organisations that enable youth social action at www.stepuptoserve.org.uk.

For more information about Young Firefighters, visit www.mawwfire.gov.uk.​​​