A place where all young people can share their ideas, knowledge and experience of volunteering. This blog has been set up to encourage more young people to get involved in volunteering projects that match their interests and enhance their career prospects.

Friday, 20 November 2009

Young People and Volunteering

The Vinvolved project aims to overcome the negative stereotypes that loads of young people have towards volunteering. Many young people avoid become a volunteer because they associate it with something retired people do because they have plenty of time on their hands. Not true. More and more young people are experiencing the benefits of volunteering and you should too!

The Vinvolved project offers those aged 16-25 the opportunity to enhance their skills and help out in their local area. We are always complaining that there is nothing to do, but still many young people don't think of becoming a volunteer and experiencing the rewards that volunteering brings.

I volunteer for the Vinvolved Project on behalf on the Portchester Community Association. They offer loads in the way of the different activites that young people can become a part of and if there's nothing there that inspires you then we are encouraged to create our own group. Like a dance, film or sports group. I suggest that you find out about where your nearest Vinvolved scheme is and the activities you can become a part of.

Volunteering is not just a great thing that you can add to your CV, in my opinion, it is great for character-building. The project I am currently working on is creating a directory for older people in the area. It lists the many things that they can do in and around Portchester. Often older people are forgotten about so to think that the work I am doing will help them is very rewarding for me.

Thanks for reading...
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5 comments:

  1. Charlotte4 January 2010 at 13:37

    Hi Cat, I too am a vinvolved volunteer and have been working with them for over a year now. I can't agree with you more about the opportunities and benefits that volunteering brings. I love the flexibility of it all, knowing that I can fit the volunteering around a time that suits me. I treasure the experiences I have had and the skills that I have picked up along the way. I would definitely recommend volunteering with vinvolved to anyone considering joining up. Like Cat said its great for character-building and something that it highly admired by employers. Keep up the good work!

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  2. Anonymous9 January 2010 at 15:22

    I did some voluntary work as a student, unfortunately I don't have the time to do it now as I have two small children and a full-time job. What I can say is that with voluntary work, the people you work with are not afraid to praise and thank you for the work you do. They show a real appreciation and it provides you with that feel-good factor that you often fail to get with many full-time jobs.

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  3. Cat Birch24 February 2010 at 17:33

    It's great to hear about the benefits of volunteering, especially from those who are volunteering for Vinvolved. Do you think it should be compulsory for young people to help out their local communities? Or would this have adverse effects? What is the future of young people's volunteering habits?

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  4. Anonymous21 March 2010 at 13:56

    I don't think that young people should be MADE to help out in their local communities - I think this would have adverse implications. Young people however should be educated in schools from an early age to take pride in their local communities and help make a difference whether its helping out elderly people or the environment. Many people have lost this pride and I think this is really sad. More needs to be done.

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  5. Cat Birch2 May 2010 at 13:57

    I totally agree, I think that education is a big part of it too. How else can we get young people to help out in their local communities?

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