Youth Volunteering
If you are aged 16-25 and fancy doing something different? then why not give volunteering a go?
Volunteering? What’s it all about?
Volunteering is for everyone and is done by everyone.
If you're applying to college or University, volunteer work could be one of the things which enhances your UCAS personal statement and makes it stand out from the crowd.
Volunteering can and does boost your self-esteem, helps you meet new people, helps you make new friends and looks good on your CV. What more could you ask for?
What’s in it for me?
Add up the time you'd usually spend doing something a lot less interesting and spend it doing something which will make you feel good about yourself as well as make others feel good about themselves
What kind of thing are we talking about?
Help a community organisation, or just make a contribution doing something that doesn't have to seem like work at all! You could even get some friends together and I’ll try & help you achieve whatever it is you want to do.
Do I get paid?
Not usually, apart from travel expenses and so on.
How long do I have to volunteer for?
It's pretty dependent on the opportunity, and on how much of your time you're prepared to give. It can be anything from a one-off thing to a set number of days a week to weeks in themselves.
Who will I be volunteering with?
Again, it depends on the type of thing you’re doing and who you’re doing it for.
What kind of information will I need to give out?
When you sign up with us or with an organisation you’ll have to give out some of your personal details -- name, address, phone number, email; that kind of stuff. If you want to take up a particular type of voluntary work, for example with children, you will have to undergo a police check.
I’m stuck… Help!
If you need any support, the best people to ask are the people you’re volunteering with. They should be qualified to answer any questions you might have. If they’re not, or you’re having difficulties for any reason, then contact Frances Barry, VAMT Youth Volunteer Officer.
| Frances Barry | 01685 353901 | Volunteer Centre, High Street, CF47 8UH. |
Many thanks to the Power of 5 and the Volunteer Centre Edinburgh for letting us reproduce their content.
GwirVol
Summary:
GwirVol is a partnership between the third, public and private sectors, and led by the views of young people in Wales. The Partnership exists to take forward the recommendations of the Russell Commission. These recommendations are designed to provide a framework to bring about a step change in the numbers and diversity of young volunteers and to give them more and better quality volunteering opportunities.
GwirVol as an initiative aims to:
1. Increase the number and the diversity of young people volunteering in Wales.
2. Increase the number and accessibility of quality volunteering opportunities for young people in Wales.
By;
- Providing information and advice
- Distributing grants that will increase youth volunteering opportunities
- Creating quality youth volunteering experiences
- Promoting those opportunities, by harnessing the views and energy of its main youth partner ‘GwirForce’
- Devising ways of recognition and reward that are of value to the young volunteer.
GwirVol will achieve this by;
- Distribution of grants
- Coordinating, supporting and monitoring the work of the all Wales network of the Youth Volunteer Advisors (YVAs)
- Construction and management of the GwirVol Portal www.gwirvol.org
- Involvement of young people as partners through the organisation GwirForce
