You will develop your character and confidence, and experience higher levels of wellbeing that can help improve your mental resilience. You’ll also develop vital skills and networks that can support your future.

Organisations will benefit from your energy, ideas and capacity to create positive change. You have a different perspective that can shift their way of thinking and open up new ways of working.

Communities benefit when you feel valued, engaged and involved. It can create a greater sense of community and boost social cohesion and integration.

We know that young people want to take part in social action: 68% of them say they are likely to do so in the future. However, only 4 in 10 young people are currently participating in meaningful social action – and participation rates have remained the same since 2014.

However, young people from lower-income backgrounds are less likely to take part in social action than their wealthier peers (51% in the wealthiest income brackets vs. 32% in the lowest income brackets).

That means that most young people from low-income backgrounds are not accessing the wide range of benefits that participation in social action can provide. It also means that their communities are not getting the full benefit of their talent, energy and ideas.

Starting a journey of social action at a young age is critical. The Habits of Service research by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues demonstrated the value of starting early and exposing young people to meaningful opportunities to make a positive contribution.

The research found that those who first get involved in service under the age of 10 are:

• More than twice as likely to form a habit of service than if they start aged 16–18 years.
• More likely to be involved in a wider range of service activities and to participate in them more frequently.
• More likely to identify themselves more closely with moral and civic values such as open-mindedness, compassion and hope.

What does great youth social action look like? Research suggests that high quality activities will meet six principles including:

1. Be youth-led
2. Be challenging
3. Have social impact
4. Allow progression to other opportunities
5. Be embedded in a young person’s life
6. Enable reflection about the value of the activity

The higher the quality of the social action, the more likely it is to benefit both the young people involved and the communities or causes they are trying to help.