Ayrshire College students spread Christmas Cheer
Two Prince’s Trust students from the Ayr campus have been getting into the community spirit this Christmas.
The Prince’s Trust Programme at Ayrshire College offers students the opportunity to improve motivation, qualifications, confidence and existing talents while learning new skills. The course includes a community project, team building residential, work placement and CV writing and job application workshops.
As part of their personal projects, Sharlene Macdonald, age 22 from Dalmellington and Victoria Watt, age 23 from Prestwick have gone above and beyond to spread the Christmas cheer in their local areas.
Sharlene wanted to give something back to her community, making Christmas cards to give to every resident in local sheltered housing in Dalmellington. Sharlene said “I moved to Dalmellington four years ago and we’ve been made really welcome, so it was nice to do something for the community.”
Victoria enjoys cooking and baking so the selection of baked goods that she donated to Ayr homeless charity ‘Wheels in Motion’ were very well received. The manager said “It was a very Merry Christmas, after Victoria baked some beautiful homemade goodies for us to distribute to those we serve. They were delighted, always grateful for a nice sweet treat!”
Employment and Engagement Officer at the Ayr campus, Tony Kane said, “The Prince’s Trust programme allows students to gain valuable life and work skills as they bond together on the various planned activities throughout the course.
“They were extremely supportive and encouraged each other to try new experiences and push themselves out of their comfort zone, especially during the residential week.
“The commitment continued throughout the 12 weeks and ended with a fantastic presentation which was a great way for them to showcase not only what they had done, but to show the personal journey they each had made and the confidence they had developed by participating in the programme.”
The future looks bright for the group, with 100% of the young people who completed the course moving on into further education, training, volunteering or employment.
Applications are now open for the next programme starting in February 2021.
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