Children & Young People


Why volunteer?

 

· Volunteering can give you valuable experience that can help you to get a job, or to support your application to university

 

· Volunteering can be great fun, help you to make new friends, and get you involved in things you feel passionate about

 

 

What’s it about?

 

Volunteering probably isn’t what you expect.   It’s not just doing boring stuff so you can stick it on a CV.  For many people it’s a way of getting involved in something that they are interested in, that they enjoy, and that they want to do.  

 

You can volunteer whatever your age, though if you are under 16 you will need parental permission to do it.  If you’re over 16 you don’t need parental permission to volunteer, but it’s a good idea to let your parents or guardians know what you’re doing.  Any organisation you volunteer for should take account of your age, and ensure that a proper risk assessment is carried out for your role, to ensure that your placement is suitable and safe.

 

 

What can I do?

 

If you are over 16 you will be able to do most types of volunteering.  You may want to befriend other young people, do outdoor activities such as conservation or running activities, volunteer in the arts, or anything else that other volunteers do.  Check out www.do-it.org.uk to see what kinds of volunteering opportunities are available in your local area, and contact your local Volunteer Centre to find out more about what you can get involved in.  

 

If there is something specific you want to do, but you can’t find it on Do-it, contact your Volunteer Centre – they might be able to set something up to meet your specific needs.

 

Volunteer Centres also work with young people in the following ways:

 

o With schools & sixth forms to engage young people in volunteering, supporting citizenship

 

o Finding volunteering placements for young people doing Duke of Edinburgh Awards, to support their UCAS applications, and as part of their course requirements for health and social care, counselling etc.

 

o  Youth volunteering projects, and putting young people in touch with other schemes being run elsewhere

 

o Enabling young people to volunteer in a wide variety of settings, providing them with the skills and experience they need to develop personally and professionally

 

Contact your local Volunteer Centre to find out more:

 

· If you want to volunteer

 

· If you are an organisation and you’d like to involve young people in your work

 

If you’ve had a good or bad time volunteering, or if you’d like to recommend a way we can improve our service, we’d love to hear about it. Please fill out one of these forms.

 

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V-involved North Yorkshire is part of the national youth volunteering programme known as “v”. Led by Northallerton Volunteer Centre, there are 5 members of staff, 2 of whom are based in Volunteer Centre Northallerton.

 

The project supports and recognises the voluntary work that young people aged 16-25 do in the Hambleton and Richmondshire area, enabling young people to get involved in issues that they care about, make a real difference to others, and gain experience, confidence and skills. The programme provides volunteering opportunities, training and support for young people and organisations, and Youth Action Teams, made up of young volunteers, champion youth volunteering throughout the county.

 

 

Since the start of the project 1337 new volunteering opportunities and 401 young people have been brokered in to opportunities in Hambleton and Richmondshire.

 

vinspired.com

Ripon Grammar School Volunteering Programme

 

Ripon Volunteer Centre facilitates the Ripon Grammar School volunteering programme, with around fifty Year 12 students per year engaging in volunteering in the community.

 

Students undertake volunteering one afternoon per week for six months, in a range of community projects, including working in schools to assist learning, working with people with disabilities, and working with older people in the community and in residential homes, among other activities.

 

The project promotes citizenship among young people, introducing volunteering as a normal and positive activity. It provides students with additional experience to enable them to progress further in volunteering, add to a CV to increase employment prospects, and support their UCAS application. The project brings people together, improving relationships between different members of the community. It supports statutory and voluntary organisations to carry out their work, and improves services

York Youth Community Action for 14-16 Year Olds

 

Through the V-involved project, York CVS was working with 16-25 year olds, though the project was also attracting young people aged 14 and 15 who were interested in volunteering. The team found that there were very few opportunities for this age group. Young people were either interested in getting involved on a personal level or because they needed to complete the community element of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

 

An opportunity became available to bring down funding, with partners City of York Council and York Cares, to offer a grant fund to organisations to develop opportunities for 14-16 year olds. The funding has already created over 4000 new opportunities, offering vocational volunteering experiences and accreditation for level 1 learners.

 

Getting young people involved in volunteering at an early age is an excellent way to encourage active community participation, volunteering and citizenship throughout

V-involved Youth Programme in York

 

In York the V youth volunteering programme is delivered by York CVS.

 

Between March 2007 and March 2010 the V-involved team helped to develop 3626 new opportunities with a range of voluntary, community and statutory partners across the city and placed 950 young people, challenging perceptions among local young people that volunteering is uncool, for old people and amounts to working for free.

 

The team worked with 65 organisations and supported many more to help develop new opportunities where young people s skills and enthusiasm could be harnessed to support York’s voluntary, community & statutory sector.

 

Volunteering is a personal choice and young people that have been through the system are attracted by this and the opportunity to make friends. Because of this, the project is seen as a safe haven for NEET young people who have been and been through various back to work packages.

 

Many of the opportunities created have attracted young people facing social exclusion, or where volunteering is not already part of their culture. Young people who were unemployed have progressed into work or further education and volunteers suffering mental health distress have grown in confidence and progressed into other volunteering opportunities or work.