• Young People of the Year or 'YOPEY' is a campaign to give young people a fairer image in the media – and society as a whole – by 'revealing, recognising and rewarding' young unsung heroes and setting them up as positive role models for other young people to copy.
• By doing this YOPEY improves relations between the generations, including reducing the elderly's fear of teenagers.
• We also give free citizenship lessons in schools and are looking at giving micro finance to young people wanting to improve their community.
• National leaders have praised YOPEY. You can read endorsements from David Cameron, Ed Miliband and others on this page.
• YOPEY is mainly supported by commercial companies as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. But it can also promote your business. YOPEY can train staff volunteers to give presentations on good citizenship.
• We also receive support from public services – the police and councils have become big backers in recent years – and charitable trusts.
• Together with all these people YOPEY is building a better society.
• Sponsors range from FTSE100 companies to SMEs. You can see all of them on our Thanks pages.
YOPEY entry opens charity shop
A charity was so impressed with YOPEY's story about Hertfordshire entry Louis Brown that Save the Children invited the 10-year-old to open its new store in his Bishop's Stortford store.
Louis – who has been nominated for YOPEY because he helps to care for his disabled nan – was blown away by the experience.
Here is a report on him opening the shop from his local paper Herts & Essex Observer.
Read More
The YOPEYs in four minutes! Download to show in school assemblies...
A short film about the kinds of young positive role models that YOPEY promotes.
Read More
Meeting rooms named after YOPEY winners
A new business in Cambridge approached YOPEY and asked if it could name its plush meeting rooms after Cambridgeshire YOPEY winners – to inspire people who meet in them.
We said: what a cool idea, and picked six names (I apologise now to anyone we have left out) from recent winners.
Cambridge Business Lounge has had plaques made that have gone on the meeting room doors, and YOPEY worked with the business to write inscriptions that have gone up inside the rooms to inspire people who meet there.
The rooms range in size from accommodating four
...Read More
Typical YOPEY awards ceremony
Founder Tony Gearing opens Bedfordshire YOPEY
For more on these awards click here
Weren’t the Olympics and Paralympics marvelous, amazing, or as the young would say AWESOME. Well, welcome to the Olympics for young people who give to the community. Just like the medal winners at the Games, I believe every young person here can be role models for today’s younger generation, and a source of pride for the older generations.
Read More
YOPEY writes to all Police Commissioners
Following the first elections for Police and Crime Commissioners, YOPEY founder Tony Gearing has written to all the successful candidates to invite them to join forces to hold a YOPEY in their police service area. We list all their names and areas below. Watch this space!
Mrs Sue Mountstevens – Avon and Somerset
Mr Olly Martins – Bedfordshire
Sir Graham Bright – Cambridgeshire
Mr John Dwyer – Cheshire
Mr Barry Coppinger – Cleveland
Mr Richard Rhodes – Cumbria
Mr Alan Charles –
Read More
YOPEY condemns unfair TV ad about youth crime
FACT – 30% of adults aged 16-24 were victims of crimes covered by the CSEW, compared to 21% of all adults.
FACT – 15% of adults aged 16-24 were victims of personal crime (e.g. violence, robbery, theft from the person), compared to 6% of all adults.
YOPEY founder Tony Gearing was interviewed on Radio 5 Live on October 10th condemning a TV ad that is promoting the elections for Police and Crime Commissioners. He also appeared on BBC Radio Suffolk and BBC Radio Kent. The story was also reported in national newspaper of the year, the
...Read More
'The YOPEYs' in five minutes!
A short film – made at the Bedfordshire 'Blue Light' Young People of the Year awards ceremony – that sums up what our awards are about, and why we need help from sponsors...
Read More
Organise a YOPEY fundraiser
YOPEY is now an official charity and donations can be given via
https://www.localgiving.com/charity/yopey
For one day only this year – Monday 14 May – donations made to YOPEY through our Localgiving page will be doubled by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation – up to a maximum of £1000. So any fundraiser, small, medium or large, will help and could raise YOPEY double whatever you donate!
To take advantage of this double-your-donation offer, we are
Read More
When Jack met Ed...
Buckinghamshire’s Young Person of the Year has met top politician Ed Miliband – and given him the benefit of his advice.
Jack Elderfield, who won last year’s top Bucks YOPEY for helping to run a Chesham charity, joined a delegation of invited YOPEY winners and other young people, to meet the Labour leader and discuss politics.
Mr Miliband wanted to know how to engage young people in politics and his office had approached YOPEY founder Tony Gearing asking him to put forward some young people for the discussion at Westminster, which included
Read More
...and then Alex and Moses
Past Essex Police Young People of the Year Alex Penn and Moses Burrell met top politician Ed Miliband – and gave him the benefit of their advice.
Sixteen-year-olds Alex and Moses, who were the junior winners in the 2009 YOPEY, joined a delegation of young people from across the country, including other YOPEY winners, to meet the Labour leader and discuss politics.
Mr Miliband wanted to know how to engage young people in politics and his office had asked YOPEY founder Tony Gearing to put forward some young people for a discussion at Westminster, which included
...Read More