Our Story

In 2014 with the support of the Mayor of London, The Challenge created and launched HeadStart, an innovative volunteering programme aimed to up-skill and empower young people for further education and employment.
With the help of our fantastic corporate partners, HeadStart aims to inspire a new generation of volunteers and provide a significant benefit to society by connecting young people to local volunteering opportunities and providing a guaranteed job interview to those who give 16+ hours of their time.
To date, HeadStart volunteers have contributed over 180,000 hours of volunteering their local communities, and we hope to reach 200,000 hours in 2020.

How it works

Volunteering

Volunteer 16 hours in your community with one of our charity partners. If you are already volunteering somewhere you can use this as your opportunity! Volunteering ticks all the boxes - you'll start building skills which we'll help you expand in workshops, you'll meet new people, and you'll give back to your community.

Gain Skills

Our employability workshops have been developed to support you to get the most out of your volunteering experience and to give you the skills and characteristics you need to get ahead.

Get Ahead

We work with a range of employers to offer you the chance to gain experience and learn about the workplace. After you volunteer 16 hours, you'll receive a guaranteed interview with one of our corporate partners (for a real job or work experience placement).

Where we deliver