With every step we shine through every ability

As of 1st July 2021 Young at Heart we became an official licenced centre for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. 

In April 2021, we received a phone call from a Duke of Edinburgh Officer offering Young at Heart an amazing opportunity that was only offered to a few charities and is only available to charities located within the Birmingham area. Therefore this means that the Charity are the ONLY children's heart charity nationally to be offered this exciting   project to work with the Duke of Edinburgh and become a licenced centre.

This means that Young at Heart will be able to offer the award scheme to all our heart children and siblings, regardless of abilities we can adapt the award scheme to suit each young adult wanting to complete the Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards.

To carry out the Bronze award you must be in School Year 9, Silver award you must be in School Year 10 and the Gold award you must be 16 years old, once you have completed the Gold award there is the option to the become a DoE leader. Once the Gold Award is completed you get a invitation to a palace and will be presented the award by a   member of The Royal Family.

Our Young at Heart team that will be running the DoE awards and as with the YaH committee the DoE project will be run by Birmingham Children's Hospital Heart Parents, if any other parents would like to get involved with becoming a leader, assessor or helper please email :  DoE_youngatheart@yahoo.com

This is a fantastic opportunity for the Charity and we are very privileged to be working with such a well known international and Royal award scheme. This will benefit all our children now and in the future.

A life-changing experience. A fun time with friends. An opportunity to discover new interests and talents. A tool to develop essential skills for life and work. A recognised mark of achievement; respected by employers.

The DofE is many things to many people, supporting generations to successfully navigate adult life.

14-24 year-olds can do a DofE programme at one of three progressive levels which, when successfully completed, leads to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

There are four sections to complete at Bronze and Silver level and five at Gold. They involve helping the community/environment, becoming fitter, developing new skills, planning, training for and completing an expedition and, for Gold only, working with a team on a residential activity.

Any young person can do their DofE – regardless of ability, gender, background or location. Achieving an Award isn’t a competition or about being first. It’s all about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries.

Through a DofE programme young people have fun, make friends, improve their self-esteem and build confidence. They gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication and drive, enhancing CVs and university and job applications. Top employers recognise the work-ready skills Award holders bring to their business.

For the hundreds of thousands of young people who take part each year, the benefits of achieving a DofE Award at any level are endless. DofE is about helping you along the path to a productive and prosperous future. As many of our participants say, it’s life-changing.

Achieving an Award will give you skills, confidence and an edge over others when you apply for college, university or a job. Beyond your academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of so called ‘soft skills’ that you have developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork. Your DofE Award is a fantastic way to demonstrate and evidence these skills in practice.

You’ll also make a difference to other people’s lives and your community, be fitter and healthier, make new friends and have memories to last you a lifetime.

Once you have signed up. Your DofE Leader will email you a link to your DofE account. This is where you log your progress through your DofE programme and where your Leader checks and approves you’ve completed your activity in each section. Once you’ve added your home address to your DofE profile you’ll be sent a Welcome Pack with lots of helpful information and your personalised DofE Card so you can access discounts and offers on expedition kit and other items. 

Now, you can start choosing what activities you want to do and decide your goals – although you don’t have to wait until you get your Welcome Pack before you start planning your programme.

Once your Leader has approved your plans, you’re ready to get going with your activities.

If you would like to know a little more on the award scheme the Duke of Edinburgh Website has lots of additional information however we will be running ours slightly different, so that everyone can feel included and no one is left out regardless of health needs or abilities.  www.dofe.org

If you should require any further information please get in touch. Thank you for your support.