A TEAM of young people aged 16-18 working with the National Citizen Service scheme organised #YESFEST, a family fun day raising money and awareness for the charity Papyrus, in Trowbridge on Friday.

Papyrus is the national charity for the prevention of young suicide, recognising, helping and supporting people suffering from mental illness.

The #YESFEST Say Yes to NCS family fun day drew around 25 visitors at Longfield Community Centre in Trowbridge, and raised nearly £500. The afternoon was filled with fun summer games and activities, with a mini-Olympics, ‘fishing’, games with prizes, a raffle and a cake sale.

Jacob Lane, 16, from Calne, who has been part of NCS, which is based locally in Melksham, since March, said: "The day went very well, and it was a real great achievement to raise so much money for an important cause.” The National Citizen Service is a government-funded programme that brings young people together to help build and develop their personal and social skills, building self-confidence, self-awareness, teamwork, responsibility and communication. Participants are given group projects to complete, to raise money and awareness for charities and bring communities together.

Papyrus aims to raise the profile of suicide due to mental illness amongst young people, saying that for too long, mental health has not been recognised and openly discussed as a serious problem. Statistics show that suicide is the biggest killer of people under 35 in the UK.