YOU London

Members of YOU London were given the privilege of speaking Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London at City Hall in Central London in order to tell him about their organisations and volunteering.

YOU London meets the Mayor

YOU London is a unique partnership of the uniformed youth organisations in Greater London which has come together to promote their organisations and the opportunities they provide to both young and old. The presentation team consisted of 6 young people and 3 adult volunteers who came from a mixture of the partner groups.

The team had the opportunity to explain to Boris, his deputies and key advisors how their organisations help shape the youth of London. The cadet presenters focused on their life changing experiences as members of their organisations whilst the adults discussed why they volunteer and just how easy and enjoyable it is.

After the presentations finished the Mayor and his advisors had a discussion with the YOU team about volunteering in the Capital. Boris was clearly impressed with the presentations, saying: “the presentations from the young people were brilliant and it was encouraging to hear how much the trainers are clearly getting out of volunteering, the variety of options provided by these organisations is excellent.”

The Chairman of YOU London, Hugh Purcell, also present for the meeting finished off by emphasising the need for all the youth groups to have adult volunteers leaders which the Mayor took on board, saying that he hopes to “build a serious culture of adult volunteering in London.”

Petty Officer Cadet George (17) from the Sea Cadets said after the meeting had concluded; “it was a privilege to speak with the Mayor today. He made us feel at ease so we could relax and get our message across” with Flight Lieutenant Leroy, a volunteer with the Air Cadets adding; “it was also really interesting to have some time after the presentations to discuss the wider aspects of volunteering with the Mayor and those present today.”

YOU organisations presenting to the Mayor were; the Sea Cadets, Army Cadets, Girl Guides, Scouts, Volunteer Police Cadets and Community Fire Cadets with adults from the Air Cadets, Girls Brigade and Boys Brigade.