Mark Charities help Prince’s Trust youngsters
 
29th March 2016
 
Special Representative of the PGM John Forster and fellow Mark Mason Clive Goodwin made a very special trip to Fleetwood to give assistance on behalf of West Lancashire Mark Charities to young people who are taking part in the Prince’s Trust programme.
 
The experience was something that might make boys of all ages quite envious as John and Mike’s appointment to make the presentation was at Fleetwood’s ultra modern Fire Station HQ as the Fleetwood Prince’s Trust programme is managed by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.
Emma Sullivan and some of the members of Prince’s Trust team 35 pose in front of a newly washed fire engine
Prince’s Trust Team Leader Emma Sullivan was on hand to welcome her visitors and she and her team took a break from doing a fund raising car wash to boost funds for the programme, to explain what the Trust is all about, and to show them all of the facilities the Fire Station has on offer behind the scenes to help each team taking the course.
 
Emma explained that the current team in the programme were taking part in a 12 week course, the 35th which the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service has run locally. The aim of the free programmes, three of which are run each year in Fleetwood, is to equip young people with the skills, tools and confidence to take the next step into work, education or training.
 
The Trust, which was founded in 1976 is celebrating its 40 years anniversary and is the UK’s largest charity for young people. The Prince’s Trust nation-wide helped some 56,000 youngsters turn their lives around last year alone.
 
Emma explained that many Fleetwood businesses willingly give their support on the local scene both practically and financially.
 
Teams also spend some time away from their Fire Station base doing such things as canoeing, climbing, raft building and much more.
John Forster presents a £250 cheque to Emma Sullivan as Colin Goodwin and Team 35 give a thumbs up
Each team selects a project to benefit the community and Team 35 opted to help Fleetwood Rugby Club, where Colin Goodwin is a leading figure, to highlight the good work of the young people in the Wyre community. This was because the club is used by all ages and they wanted a project that would be beneficial to a diverse age range. Team 35 redecorated some of the rooms at the club from scratch and recreated the stencils which were supplied by the rugby club to design a rose for the main changing room.
 
Another community project will be a visit to a local centre to discover how people affected by Parkinson’s disease learn how to cope with its effects.
 
The members of the team also receive practical help with essential skills such as how to write CV’s, practice interview skills and how to make job applications.
 
In the final week of the programme each of the team will be delivering a presentation to an invited audience and be given a chance to show off their newly acquired talents.
 
At the end of the visit to the Fire Station and the Prince’s Trust team John Forster presented Emma with a £250 cheque from Mark Charities to help with kitting out the youngsters out for prospective job interviews and wished Emma and her team every success in their efforts.
 
Emma in turn asked John to thank Mark Masons for their very welcome and much appreciated support.
Report and Photographs Courtesy of Bob Boal