"I want to help the community as much as I can"

Thursday 02 January 2025

A 16-year-old Les Quennevais house captain and charity volunteer has been selected as the next Young Ambassador of the Jersey Lions Club.

Juggling a busy schedule of GCSEs, volunteering and various sports, Charlie Vasse is looking forward to "giving back" to the community in his new role.

Having been chosen out of five contestants who vied for the title at the local contest in November, Charlie received £500 for charity and has been invited to the regional Lions contest in the south of England.

Express got in touch to see how he wants to use his position and what changes he'd like to see in Jersey...

It is clear that Charlie's efforts are deeply rooted in the community. As a prefect and Watts house captain at Les Quennevais school, and Young Leader for St Peter's Youth Club, he is passionate about mentoring and encouraging other young islanders.

Charlie also volunteers for a disabled football team, child empowerment charity Pathways, and Down Syndrome Jersey – as well as preparing to complete his GCSEs next summer.

A keen sportsman, he plans to go to Highlands to complete a sports course with ambitions to one day coach his own squad and continue that trend of helping others.

Charlie said that being selected as Lions Club Young Ambassador for 2024 as a "great experience", and said he "couldn't wait" to tell his friends and family.

He was also nominated for Young Ambassador in 2023, but missed out on the top spot.

Looking to 2025, Charlie is hoping to "give back" to the community as Lions Club Young Ambassador.

"I want to do as much as I can and help the community as much as I can," he said. "I just want to give back."

Charlie also wanted to thank his two nominators Liz Lambotte and Joshua Twohig-Jones for supporting him over the years.

The runner-up for Lions Club Young Ambassador this year was 17-year-old Holly Robinson who also received £200 for a charity of her choice.

What would you change about Jersey?

Every year, Express asks the newest Lions Young Ambassador, 'What would you change about Jersey?'

Charlie said: "I'm hoping to have more for people around my age, like 14 to 18.

"There's not really that much for us to do, there's parks for that's the little ones, but there's not really places for my age to hang around.

"Somewhere that's easily accessible for most people. Like in town, there should be more to do, maybe like an arcade or something."

Pictured: Charlie would like more parishes to allow young players to freely use their pitches.

He added: "Because I'm heavily int football, I'd also like to see more facilities for parishes on the eastern side of the island.

"There's not that many pitches that everyone's allowed to play on because the pitches that are there are for clubs only."