I’m a journalist at The Independent and I live just round the corner from Prospex. Walking past one day, I looked into the office and thought: I want to be part of that. Islington is a very unequal place, and the people who Prospex help are both its most vulnerable and its most promising members. I volunteer because I want to raise these young people’s ambitions, help make them more powerful, and expose the stereotypes of them as false. I’m an optimist at heart, which is why Prospex and I get on.

I remember clearly my first meeting with Beef: I said, ‘I am not sure what I can offer you, but I am keen to contribute something to the local area; oh, and I think I might like to be an English teacher - is there anything you can do with me?’ I think the Gods were with me that day, as Beef was already in the process of setting up the Lexis programme - the scheme by which volunteers provide one-on-one tutoring in maths and literacy skills to young people who think this would be of use.

I did the training, and have now been assigned a young person to work with. So, it’s early days, but I’m really excited. The course that Prospex ran to prepare us for being literacy and numeracy tutors has equipped me well; with that, and the enthusiasm of my new friends at Prospex, I think we are well on course to deliver something of real value. And that can only be a good thing.

I’m 22 years old, live in Maidstone, Kent, and have been volunteering with Prospex since summer 2008. I have been involved in a variety of work, including the building of a community garden, the relocation to the Jean Stokes Community Centre and the Thursday night youth club.

Working with Prospex has been a life changing experience, challenging my attitudes and giving me the chance to work alongside so many great people. I look forward to more opportunities to work for Prospex and hope to get involved in fundraising in the near future.

As an ex-solicitor with two children I was one of the original trustees of Prospex. I now focus, still as a volunteer, on its fundraising. As Prospex grows, the pursuit of financial support is relentless and funding must be applied for continually while Prospex aims to form personal long term relationships with funders so that their support is correspondingly long term. Volunteering has allowed me to be a vital part of Prospex’s growth and success. It is a happy group to work in and gives me the opportunity to use my skills for something incredibly worthwhile.

My name is Ladislau Emanuel, I am from Queensbury (North West London). I am currently studying at Greenwich University on the programme called Youth and Community studies.

I am finding my first year placement with Prospex very enjoyable, and I am experiencing working with young people who display challenging behaviour.

I am currently studying for a master’s degree in labour law at King’s College London. My original degree was in history, after which I converted to law, and then trained as a barrister. I am also active in local politics and intend to stand in the Islington local elections in 2010.

I have lived on Caledonian Road for almost a year now and enjoy supporting the local community. I heard about Prospex from the Islington Conservative Association and believe its work is vital for young people in the local area.

I’ve lived in this area for 27 years, and have three wonderful teenage daughters, a husband, a cat and a hamster. My background is in HR, but more recently I’ve been volunteering: as a reading helper at Robert Blair School; as an ESOL teacher in Hackney; and currently as an adviser at Camden CAB. I started volunteering at Prospex because I like young people, and would like to offer others some of the support I’ve been able to give my own daughters. I’ve been doing streetwork with Beef, and working on the imminent launch of the Lexis literacy project.

I am an accountant currently working for a venture capital company in Chelsea and I am originally from Tipperary in Ireland.

I joined Prospex as a volunteer accountant in 2004 because I wanted to do some voluntary work with a children’s/young people’s charity and offering my accounting skills seemed like the perfect thing to do. The work is very varied and rewarding and I love working with the guys at Prospex because I really believe in what they do and I love their passion for the charity and the kids they work with.

My name is Olivia Cummins and I am a 21 year old student. I volunteer with Lexis, Prospex’s literary and numeracy project which I very much enjoy. Prospex’s projects achieve what good volunteering should; they work closely within a community with empathy and respect – and see the needs of each young person they work with within their wider context. I’m gaining a huge amount of experience volunteering with them, improving my teaching skills while gaining a better understanding of the community I live in; skills which will help me both in life, and in my career

Living on the edge of the Bemerton estate and getting a glimpse of what life is like for the young people there was what made me want to become involved with Prospex. I don’t have experience of youth work, but I’m a trainee proofreader so I offered those skills to Prospex in order to help out with the organisation’s various communications.

Patrick lives locally and has become a regular worker at the Boston Youth club. He has recently completed an accredited introduction to youth work course.

Frank is a local resident and has been volunteering at the Boston Youth Club for the past year.

Frank brings a host of skills and experience with him and he has been part of a Prospex Life Course filming and photographing it all for us, the evidence can be found on the site. Frank is also behind the Life Skills Course that we are working to set up and will head this up when we have secured all the funding we need. (For more about Life skills look under Prospex Works.)

Elizabeth got involved with Prospex having organised a fundraising event for us. Since then she has been part of the Street Team and is also one of our Literacy and numeracy tutors on the Lexis Project.

She has a passion for Politics (an active member of the Islington Young Conservative Future) and brings bags of enthusiasm and ideas.

Alex is one of our literacy and numeracy tutors and is the Mum of Elizabeth. She is currently working with one young person and they are making good progress.

Kishti is a local resident with a real heart for community. She has been involved in many different ways and most currently helping raise funds through regular boot fairs.