A group of 15-16 year olds from a range of schools in Barnet have chosen to do some very productive work over their summer holidays – volunteering for various activities as part of The Challenge.

The Challenge is led by the National Citizen Service (NCS). It’s the perfect way to help young people gain confidence and life experiences along the way and also enhances their chances with prospective employers.

This group decided they wanted to plan and run a local campaign to raise awareness for people with learning disabilities. They chose Rosa Morison, Your Choice Barnet’s day service for adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities in New Barnet. They used the money they raised to buy gardening equipment, plants and flowers and set about transforming the outdoor garden area of Rosa Morison.

The youngsters also spent the afternoon jet washing the path of the service’s brand new sensory garden, which is being officially opened by a very special guest next week Thursday 28 July.

Rosa Morison Manager Richard Buckman said: “It has been so great to have The Challenge project join us at Rosa Morison. The group started by planting the raised herb garden and then planted flowers in the garden bed at the back and jet washed the path of the new sensory garden. The day ended by the guys signing over their Instagram account to us which they created and which had already reached 1,000 followers.

Richard continues: “We would like to officially thank The Challenge group for all their hard work, fundraising and for engaging with our clients.”

One of the young people Sophie Ridge-Ahmed said: “We did a Dragon’s Den style pitch to local MP Theresa Villiers, the Head of Security at Brent Cross and a representative from the NCS and were awarded £70, which we used to buy equipment and plants needed for our campaign, which was to raise local awareness of people with learning disabilities.”

Rosa Morison staff supported The Challenge by hosting a Caribbean barbeque – the afternoon was a perfect combination of Your Choice Barnet’s work in action: service users and staff engaging with young people – who in turn were learning new skills.