NCS has come to an end but there is still a chance to hear about Lucy’s final adventures with her team.

Hi…. sorry for the late post. There have been many valid reasons for me not posting I promise. So sorry!

Week 3 and 4 were amazing. I felt I got so much out of it and I felt inspired to reach my goals especially after a talk we had with two special guests from Gloucester who had been raising money for charity in a number of amazing ways. They had gone through so much injury and pain but still kept going and kept doing what they loved and eventually reached their goals. We all felt so inspired after it and it got us motivated for the rest of the 2 weeks.

The 3rd week, we started off by planning what we were going to do. It was easily done as we all agreed on 2 great charities: Gloucestershire Young Carers and NightStop. I was quite proud as I volunteered to phone NightStop for my group, even though I’m a bit nervous on the phone to strangers. My team were supportive as always and cheered me on. Luckily it was successful, and I got to tell the group that I had arranged a meeting with them the next day.

I then worked with Kieran and Victoria to organise the carboot sale. It ended up being pretty hilarious, especially when the person on the phone misheard my first name and kept using my surname! I think throughout NCS I have improved my group and planning skills massively, and I feel so lucky to have had so many lovely and supportive people in my group. After the first phone call I made to NightStop, I felt really confident for the next phone calls I had to make and was constantly volunteering.

I also really enjoyed meeting and visiting the charities. It was so interesting to find out what they do. I shared with the group some of the things I did for the homeless in the past as I felt really good afterward. It’s honestly a great feeling and I would encourage others to give back to the community like we did.

Week 4 consisted of our 4 fundraising events (sponsored walk, sleep out, carboot and open mic night) and also helping out at Gloucester marathon. They all went SO well!

I took part in all of them apart from the sleep out (well done to everyone who did it/ did all of them). The walk actually KILLED me. I fell over 3 times, got stung, got bitten, twisted my ankle, got scratched by thorns but I made it out alive! I didn’t stop and even when there was a chance to bail out (because I must be honest I REALLY wanted to) … I didn’t. I walked the full way. We met some lovely friends along the way.

Helping out at Gloucester marathon was fun (despite the early morning). We were basically located at different parts of Gloucester in different groups and handed out water and energy gel to the runners. It was quite satisfying actually. Well, in all fairness, I don’t know what was more satisfying: seeing the others doing a 7-minute workout or handing out the stuff. The carboot and open mic night were probably my favourite parts of week 4.

It was really fun getting together as a group selling all our old stuff. We were also able to look around ourselves and the leaders organised a game where we had to look for the weirdest item and buy it for only £1. Me, Lorran and Ellie managed to reach the final but when we were sent off with 20p to decide the winner, unfortunately, we were beaten! It was SO fun though.

Finally, the open mic night was AMAZING. Everyone was so talented and I enjoyed supporting my friends and even having to prompt someone with their words. I still cannot believe I had the confidence to take part and sing as I have not been able to sing in front of others in a while. I had so many compliments and I would love to carry it on (who cares about the negative people in the past).

On the last day, after I had typed up a few thank you letters with a few others, we got together as a group with the members of the charities and told them how successful we were and what we were able to give them. It was amazing. We then went round and discussed what we had learnt from the program and shared so many good memories. I am so glad and proud that I kept this blog as so many people have enjoyed it and all my good memories are safe and easy to look back on. I will never forget NCS.

I actually thought I wouldn’t cry but I bawled a waterfall… I cried into everyone’s arms and kept crying for 5 whole hours. Overall, I just wish it didn’t have to end. I can proudly say it has changed my life for the better no doubt about it.

Thank you YG for everything!

Lucy xxx

you can follow Lucy’s Blog here.