Prince Harry to Visit Leicester
Tuesday 21st March, 2017
Prince Harry will travel to Leicester on Tuesday 21st March to visit three local projects; Yes You Can, Leicestershire Aids Support Service (LASS) and the Pink Lizard. His Royal Highness will see how the Yes You Can and Pink Lizard programmes engage with and empower young people from the local communities, and how LASS, which this year is celebrating its 30th birthday, provides vital support to those who are living with or affected by HIV.
Prince Harry will firstly visit the Yes You Can project at Hamilton Community College. The 20-week personal development programme, which is delivered by Kainé Management and operates within seven secondary schools around Leicestershire, uses peer mentors between the ages of 16 and 25 to inspire and meet the needs of Year 8 pupils who are underperforming by overcoming barriers to learning, raising aspirations, and helping to close attainment gaps for at risk groups. The project also has a strand – the ‘I Have A Dream’ programme – which empowers primary school children to be resilient in achieving their dreams as they transition to secondary school. Prince Harry will meet mentors and children from the two programmes at Hamilton College, and hear more about how the project has helped the young people to turn their lives around and reach their goals.
His Royal Highness will then travel to LASS, the HIV charity for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. LASS provides information, advice, support and advocacy services for people who are living with or affected by HIV, and also raises HIV awareness through training and workshops. The charity, which Diana, Princess of Wales, visited in 1991, also works in partnership with other local agencies to challenge the stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV. On arrival Prince Harry will join a discussion with LASS service users affected by HIV, and attend a training session with the charity’s partner organisations to examine how they can support people affected by HIV to lead happy, healthy lives. His Royal Highness will then meet service users and volunteers over lunch in the LASS canteen, before unveiling a commemorative plaque to mark the charity’s 30th birthday.
Prince Harry will lastly visit the Pink Lizard, a youth and community organisation based in the Saffron Lane estate in Leicester. The organisation’s main aim is to support young people living in deprived communities by developing and delivering learning opportunities which are uplifting, interesting and fun. It uses sport to build confidence, tackle negative behaviour patterns, and help get young people back into education, training or employment. Pink Lizard has been supported by the sport for development charity Sported for a number of years, as part of the membership organisation’s ongoing commitment to strengthen grassroots community groups across the UK. Prince Harry will meet a number of young people from the local community taking part in a sports training session at the Southfields Drive Sports Centre, and will hear how Pink Lizard’s programmes and services have helped these young people to develop essential skills for career progression.
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