You Can Be Heroes Week on This Morning
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has joined forces with This Morning to launch the You Can Be Heroes Week from Monday 7th January - watch his full interview with Holly and Phillip here.
The campaign aims to increase the number of volunteers working in a variety of organisations such as The Prince’s Trust, Business in the Community, and Youth United – organisations which The Prince either founded or is the President of - and who all rely on volunteers.
In an exclusive interview at Clarence House with This Morning, The Prince of Wales explains, “These sorts of occasions like the Olympics and the Jubilee bring out the best in people and I do know… just how many wonderful people there are doing these remarkable things and volunteering the whole time in their own communities.
“A lot of people don’t realize how so many of these people keep the whole show on the road. There is something remarkable in this country I think, about the volunteering spirit.”
The Prince admits it will be a challenge but hopes that the Great British public can maintain and build on the incredible goodwill and enthusiasm that was generated by the likes of the Games-makers.
“What I wanted to do with Youth United was to get all the uniformed services and others together to talk to them about how we could expand the opportunities [for volunteers],” The Prince elaborates. “I then discovered there is something like an 80,000 waiting list to get into the Scouts and Guides and most people have no idea about this. So there are a massive number of young people out there who want to, but can’t. Part of the reason is that they can’t find enough adult volunteers.”
The Prince also divulged his worry for the future of his grandchild and the next generation: “I’ve gone on for years about the importance of thinking about the long term in relation to the environmental damage, climate change and everything else. We don’t, in a sensible world, want to hand on an increasingly dysfunctional world to our grandchildren, to leave them with the real problem.”
The Prince of Wales also opens up about his concerns for the safety of Prince Harry, and other young people serving in the Armed Forces. “If you are a parent or relation to a loved one and that person is away in these incredibly dangerous and challenging circumstances, I know you worry all the time,” he says. “But he loves doing what he’s doing and he’s brilliant at it.”
Holly and Phillip are fully behind the campaign, with Holly saying: “Last year the whole country came together to cheer on our Team GB Olympic and Paralympic Heroes. But, a hero of another kind emerged - those who gave up their time to volunteer. They really helped to make every event such a success and it just goes to show how giving up a little bit of your time can really help.”
Phillip adds: “I have previously carried out some volunteer work so I’ve witnessed first-hand how giving just a small amount of your time and effort really does make a huge difference to others in need.”
This Morning’s You Can Be Heroes Week launches with The Prince of Wales’ interview on Monday 7th January 2013. Visit www.itv.com/thismorning for further information.
