How NCS helped Kirushan change lives with social action
Shortly after Kirushan started his NCS experience, Russia invaded Ukraine. So, together with his teammates, they decided to do some positive social action, specifically to help refugees coming to the UK from Ukraine.
5 min read
Providing life changing social action
They decided to collect clothes and raise awareness for what was happening. The team shared posts on social media, produced flyers to hand out in their local community, and even went door to door collecting clothes before delivering them to a collection centre.
The positive work they were doing also had a surprising positive effect for Kirushan.
What was it?
He found his voice.
Stepping up to the plate
“The planning was kind of all crazy. Communication was off, and what we had to do was establish a system. So I became a central hub everyone talked to, and set up several teams.” said Kirushan.
Doing good with a side of gaining really important (and transferable) leadership skills? Sounds like a classic NCS sandwich! Why not take a bite yourself 👀
To begin with, Kirushan was in charge of finance and social media, but when he saw that some organisation was needed, he stepped up and became team leader. He organised everyone according to their strengths, allocating key roles such as route planner, risk assessors, and clothing sorters, saying “I found that good leadership involves channelling people’s strengths effectively.”
And the delegation speaks for itself - Kirushan was successfully able to lead everyone involved into securing, sorting, and delivering over 200kg of clothes in one day, all whilst running out of boxes and securing more!
Community impact…and the wider world
Kirushan wasn’t sure to begin with how much of an impact the clothing collection would have, but “I thought it would just be us bringing our clothes, but turns out the community around us is quite caring…and as a result, it got massive news coverage.”
It’s true! The work Kirushan did:
- Was written about in the local newspaper
- Got nominated for a Young Citizen Award
- Received a Coronation Champions Award
In other words: hard work, well and truly recognised. And as it should be. It just shows that when you come together with your local community, incredible things can happen. Not only did Kirushan, his team, and his community do something that provided real, tangible, and essential help to those in need, they learnt about what they were made of and how they could become better people in the process.
Seeing the good in yourself
It’s like Kirushan says, “When I initially signed up for NCS, I was just doing it for myself, just for fun. But when I saw my face in the news, that's when I realised I've actually done something here and it felt so far beyond my own means. I’ll remain proud of it for a very long time.”
And it doesn’t just last for the amount of time you’re on NCS either! For Kirushan, the impact of his NCS experience a couple of years ago still makes a difference in his life every day, today.
“It was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I used to be quite lazy but it made me more proactive, and it forced me to think, ‘okay, I have to get this thing done before this point’ and really push myself,” he said.
So that’s:
- Leadership skills
- Increased productivity
- Determination
- Motivation
- Seeing new perspectives
Because, as Kirushan says, “When you’re being productive and doing something for the right reason, you feel really good. It was a great thing to do and it gave me the happiest feeling”.
So, what could you achieve in your local community? Have a think, and then think bigger! And then… get yourself on an NCS experience. Just take a look at what we’ve got to offer and sign up today!
