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BigDeal
Gambling information, advice and support for young people

We’re in partnership with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

At GamCare, we are proud to be licensed as an approved activity provider for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), offering new opportunities for young people to join our Youth Advisory Board and be an essential voice in our service. 

We believe the voices of young people should be at the heart of all we do and partnering with the DofE means more opportunities to reach more young people and help reduce gambling-related harms.  

In the government’s latest Youth Review, a key area cited for development over the next three years was offering more opportunities for young people. 

Alongside investing heavily as part of the new National Youth Guarantee – an initiative designed to improve opportunities for young people – it was announced the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme will be offered to every state-funded secondary school in England by 2025 which means more young people will be able to gain invaluable life-long skills. 

What’s on offer for young people? 

Anyone aged 14-17 who is enrolled in the DofE programme will have an opportunity to volunteer to be part of our Youth Advisory Board, where they have a chance to put their skills to the test and gain vital new ones. Some of the opportunities involve: 

  • Youth Inspectors and Analysts – Youth inspectors and analysts play a vital role within our advisory board. They observe our training and education workshops, look at case studies from our support service and make recommendations on how to engage like-minded people. 
  • Youth Content and Communications Team – The chance to champion the voice of young people in our content and communications team. Help contribute to social media management and creation, video production and editing, website editing, creating and co-delivering educational content. 
  • Youth Event Planners – Our youth event planners help create new ideas and organise different events involving the organisation and the YAB. From awareness campaigns on gambling-related harms, assisting with social media takeovers, generating ideas for content creation and much more. The event planners are an essential part of the board. 
  • Lived Experience Advocates – Listening to the voice of young people that have been affected by gambling-related harm is crucial to how we shape our programmes and services. Our lived experience team help to influence developments in the prevention, support and treatment of gambling related harms by sharing their stories. 

How to get started 

Anyone aged 14 – 17 who is enrolled on the DofE programme can come forward and join our Youth Advisory Board (It doesn’t even have to be through the Duke of Edinburgh, anyone from 11-17 can join!) 

Head over to our dedicated Duke of Edinburgh’s Award page on our BigDeal website to find out more on how to get started, including tips and tricks on how to make an award application really stand out. 

Need more information? Get in touch with our Youth Advisory Board team at YAB@gamcare.org.uk.