An Extraordinary Time
Promoting youth development as we cope with COVid
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the lives of young people, especially those from the poorest communities, where All Stars works:
In the last year, more than half of young people report ‘always or often feeling anxious’ — the highest level ever recorded
The ‘attainment gap’ between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has stopped closing for the first time in a decade
We’ve been adapting to meet these challenges.
Since the March 2020 lockdown:
All Stars has trained 84 new Young Leaders aged 14-20 in skills like public speaking, team building & community organising
We’ve offered them 35 Bridge-Building Workshops led by professionals in fields like finance, tech, marketing, theatre, architecture, medicine & more
Our 2021 Young Leaders also received Work Experience with the FT Group, as well as Weekly Mentorship with volunteers from Davidson Kempner European Partners, LLP
The Young Leaders have produced 3 Virtual Talent Shows featuring 60 acts -with another one coming in October!
I never thought I'd be able to speak to adults or hold conferences with businesspeople on Zoom, until now."
- Aliza, aged 15
Offering Connection & Opportunity
Our work has had a palpable impact on both young people’s skills and their wellbeing.
Amongst our 2020 Young Leaders cohort:
80% said they had an ‘increased ability to collaborate’
92% said they’d ‘gained new skills’
100% said they were 'more confident in speaking & leading’
At a time of record levels of anxiety, All Stars Young Leaders actually reported increases in feelings of wellbeing after our 2020 programmes:
‘I’ve been feeling optimistic for the future’ (+44.8%),
‘I’ve been dealing with problems well’ (+48%)
‘I’ve been feeling close to other people’ (+52%)
We Need Your Help
Carrying on our work has never been more important — or more challenging.
We’ve adapted to the changing lockdown restrictions, working both online and in-person, to bring our Young Leaders new and expanded programmes throughout the pandemic. Next year, we’ll expand our Mentoring scheme with more companies, pairing every young person with their own mentor for Summer 2022. But All Stars needs your support to make that happen, helping to create experiences like these:
“Before this, I was the kind of person who didn’t leave my room or communicate with anyone I didn’t know, and it puts you out there.” - Kaitlin, aged 15
“It helps you develop your confidence and helps you in the wider world, even if you’re doing a job interview.” - Sami, aged 15
“All those years had bottled me up in the dark space of a fixed mindset and negativity but once I clicked on ‘Join Meeting’, me and my talent found a way to shine.” - Thevhan, aged 13
“I’ve never seen my daughter with such interest in any other programme… All Stars has changed her life within this short period. I see her more confident and more prepared to take on leadership roles” - Selestin, mother of Nitisha, aged 14