YOUNG AMBASSADORS FOR THE PRINCE'S TRUST

This is Adam and Daniel (and Nick – he’s the grey-haired chap). Adam and Daniel are Young Ambassadors for The Prince’s Trust. They both came through a tough childhood and, with The Trust’s support, turned their lives around.

Their stories are incredible. We Tyrwhitteers like to talk until the cows come home about ways we support The Prince’s Trust, but what’s more important is the work done by The Trust itself and the young people’s lives it helps to transform.

Adam and Daniel are two such young people. Nick sat down with them to find out a bit about their inspiring stories and how The Trust had helped them along the way.

26-year-old Adam divides his time between mentoring for The Trust and retail work. But things were not always so rosy. “I ended up homeless overnight at age 16 when some family members struggled to accept my sexuality.”

Daniel is a 27-year-old aspiring actor and artist who also had a difficult time as a teenager: “I developed OCD at the age of 12 and it gradually got worse until at the age of 16 I developed body dysmorphia disorder and began to self-harm.”

Adam and Daniel credit two different Trust programmes with helping to set them on the right path. “I had to leave school and get a job and find somewhere to live,” Adam told Nick. “I found The Trust at the job centre in a Get Into Retail programme with Marks and Spencer. It was a stepping stone and the first route into the world of work that I needed.”

Daniel took part in The Trust’s Enterprise Programme: “I knew I wanted to do art and I thought maybe they could help me start a business because I had no idea how.” His idea was to combine two of his great passions: drawing and animal welfare. “If I can make a business out of doing something I enjoy doing and raise awareness and help too, then that’s a plus.”

With The Trust’s help, Daniel’s business idea has become a reality. He was paired up with a mentor who helped him with the financial side of things: “I knew about the creativity part so it was how to bring those two things together.” Daniel creates artwork of endangered animal species and donates 5-10% of the profits to the conservation of his work’s subject. “I want people to be more aware; like David Attenborough did with Blue Planet.”

Adam’s passions lie elsewhere, but The Trust has been no less helpful making them a reality. Inspired by his own experiences, he wants to give back and help other young people. Since discovering The Trust, he has worked with worked with the Youth Commission and the Police and Crime Commissioner in his home county of Norfolk. He is also working with a social enterprise in London called Leaders Unlocked: “They saw me and really liked me and wanted me to work on their project here in London.”

The two-hour commute from Norwich is making this difficult but Adam’s involvement with The Trust continues: “Next week I am going back to train this year’s cohort of Young Ambassadors. I want to be a mentor to them and help train them with speaking.”

If Charles Tyrwhitt and The Prince’s Trust have one thing in common, it is that they both aim to give people confidence. But while a suit might make someone look and feel good for an hour-long interview, The Trust’s support can give someone confidence for life: “It has improved my public speaking,” says Adam. “It helps you be interview and work-ready. The last two years have been the best of my life ”

Nick is definitely convinced: “If either of you guys walked in for an interview with me, you would get the job straight away.”

We concur.