Lucy, who is studying Geography, Biology and Psychology at CHS, balances her studies by volunteering at the Mahdlo OnSide Youth Zone. She started as a Volunteer Activities Worker during her GCSEs, but has held a variety of roles since then.
Her potential as a business leader was quickly recognised and as well as being a Volunteer Youth Worker at Mahdlo, she is now an OnSide Ambassador. As a result, she regularly travels round the country speaking to philanthropists and businesses about the vital role of the Youth Zones.
In October 2019, Lucy was sponsored by John Roberts, CEO of AO.com, to attend the One Young World Youth Leadership Summit in London. There she joined young leaders from across the globe, attending talks, seminars and networking events aimed exclusively at the next generation of business leaders.
At the Summit, Lucy gave a talk entitled ‘Platforms for Opportunity’, in which she discussed the impact of the Mahdlo Youth Zone on the community in Oldham, including telling part of her own story about how volunteering at the Youth Zone had transformed her future. The talk, which was to an audience of 400 young leaders, had a great reception, with many of those attending waiting to speak to Lucy at the end of her session.
Lucy said “This was an inspirational opportunity to see how CEOs of multinational companies respected and valued the opinions of young leaders – their faith in us was incredible.” Highlights of the conference for Lucy were listening to celebrities such as HRH The Duchess of Sussex, Ellie Goulding, and Bob Geldof give talks to the full conference.
