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In December 2005, T-Mobile, ITV, KPMG, MTV, Tesco, Sky and The Hunter Foundation pledged a total of £3.5m to engage and inspire a new generation of young people to take part in volunteering and community activities throughout England.
Ian Russell welcomed the Founding Partners:
“I am delighted to be joined by seven exceptional
Founding Partners, who believe in the enormous power of volunteering,
and are committed to harnessing the energy, skills and enthusiasm
of young people to make a real difference in communities across
England.”
Chancellor, Gordon Brown, also thanked private sector partners,
praising them for their investment in young people:
"I would like to extend my personal thanks to the new
Founding Partners for their vision and commitment to youth
volunteering. I believe there is an incredible goodwill mountain
just waiting to be tapped. This new scheme will help to unleash
the potential of young people everywhere, enabling them to
make a real and lasting contribution to their communities."
Read
the press release here
Read more about our Founding Partners here:
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T-Mobile
T-Mobile is working in partnership with TimeBank and Youth
Action Network to encourage young people to get involved
in volunteering. Going forward, T-Mobile will be funding
various initiatives with these organisations, all aimed
at enabling more young people to make a positive difference
to their lives and the lives of others in their community
through volunteering.
Brian McBride, Chief Executive at T-Mobile said “T-Mobile
is about connecting people and bringing them closer to
the things that matter to them. We are delighted to be
a Founding Partner of the Russell Commission implementation
body, helping to transform the way young people become
involved in volunteering”. Press contact: Julie
Watson
Tel: 07939 539462 |
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ITV
ITV will use the power of the ITV network to support the
aims of Russell Commission using regional news and bespoke
programming to highlight, inspire and motivate young people
to consider volunteering as a means to developing their
potential. The ITV Regional News service reaches an average
of 23.7 million viewers which is 46% of the UK population.
Announcing ITV’s commitment, Charles Allen, Chief
Executive ITV plc said “I am delighted that ITV
will be part of such an exciting and important initiative.
ITV and our 11 regions can play a unique role in showcasing
what young volunteers are already doing and in partnership
with them, motivating hundreds of thousands more to follow
their example. The power of our cameras can shed light
on the amazing stories generated by selfless acts and
the reach of our audience through our regional news flagship
programmes can help inspire others to get on board.”
Press Contact: Jane Luca, Controller of Regional Affairs
Tel: 0161 827 2219
Email: Jane.Luca@ITV.COM |
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KPMG
KPMG’s initial involvement with the Russell Commission
came when Neil Sherlock, Partner, Public Affairs participated
in the Independent Advisory Group advising Ian Russell
in his development of a national framework to encourage
youth volunteering. The firm has now committed to providing
long-term support to the Commission through investing
time and money in four main volunteering projects. Through
supporting and developing these projects KPMG aims to
help the Commission achieve its goal of recruiting a million
new volunteers over the next three years.
Mike Rake, Chairman of KPMG International and KPMG
LLP (UK) said: “Becoming a founding partner of
the Russell Commission implementation body is a natural
continuation of KPMG’s long standing commitment
to supporting volunteering within our local communities.
Our own people have supported the firm’s UK wide
volunteering programme for over ten years. Over 3,000
KPMG staff – more than 30 percent of our people
– now participate in the programme.”
Press contact: Claire Le Masurier, Press and PR Executive
Tel: 0207 694 8639
Email: Claire.LeMasurier@KPMG.co.uk |
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MTV
MTV Chief Executive, Michel Bakker explained their commitment
to inspire young people - "MTV has an ongoing global
commitment to empower young people to be creative and
enterprising, encouraging them to use our brand as a platform
to define themselves and inspire each other. We share
the convictions of the Russell Commission and its Founding
Partners in creating new initiatives that showcase the
talents and aspirations of young people in the UK and,
in so doing, highlight the unique contribution they make
to society." Press contact: Eleanor Parker, Senior
Press Manager
Tel: 0207 284 6348
Email: Parker.Eleanor@mtvne.com |
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Tesco
Announcing his support for the Russell Commission implementation
body, Tesco Chief Executive, Sir Terry Leahy, said "Providing
people with opportunities to get on and allowing individuals
to explore new experiences to broaden their horizons is
at the heart of our values. I am delighted to support
the Russell Commission in bringing these aims to young
people throughout the country." Press contact:
Central Press Office
Tel: 01992 644645 |
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Sky
Sky aims to use the strengths of its brand, programming
and online presence to inspire young people into action.
A range of innovative projects will motivate teenagers
across the UK to get involved in volunteering and provide
new opportunities to mentor younger children. James
Murdoch, Chief Executive explained - "Encouraging
young people to take an active role in their communities
is a natural extension of Sky's long-standing work to
help teenagers to achieve their potential. We are pleased
to be able to be a founding partner in this innovative
new programme and we are looking forward to getting
stuck in."
Press contact: Jade Holmes, Senior Communications Manager
Tel: 020 7705 3448
Email: jade.holmes@bskyb.com |
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The Hunter Foundation
Sir Tom Hunter of The Hunter Foundation explained the
importance of engaging young people in international volunteering
opportunities – “Through the Clinton-Hunter
Development Initiative and our other investments in
Africa we hope, through this volunteering programme,
to enable young people to play a crucial role in the
development agenda.
By enabling young people to better understand just
how vibrant Africa is and how a solution does exist
to extreme poverty, we hope to engage the younger generation
in supporting African people in delivering their own
solutions to poverty.”
Press contact: Ewan Hunter
Tel: (via Lorna Gibson) 01563 852242 |
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