Volunteering

‘V is the first letter of the word volunteering. It is also the name of a new charity set up to inspire a new generation of volunteers called V inspired‘. www.vinspired.com is a website specifically designed for young people who want to volunteer. The great thing is you can give as little or as much time as you like.

Volunteering is becoming more and more popular amongst young people these days, and with the help of a website like V inspired it is so easy to find a placement that appeals to you and matches your hobbies & interests. There are many reasons why young people volunteer; you may want to add something to your CV, to meet people like you, to help out in your local area, to make use of some spare time or to simply get out there and have some fun.

I have been volunteering since I was 15 years old; I started off coaching netball to some first year girls at my school. I began helping out at my local Youth Club one evening a week and I was approached by a Millennium Volunteers (now known as V) Youth Worker to see if I wanted to record the hours I volunteered to achieve an award. In order to accumulate 100 hours for an award my friend and I decided to raise awareness of bullying in schools by setting up an Anti-Bullying Campaign. We surveyed pupils at both primary and secondary schools to discover why and when bullying occurred then we presented our findings to both the NSPCC Children’s Charity and local Schools to see if changes could be made and if our suggestions could make a difference.

I built up my hours gradually over time, putting in just 5 hours volunteering each weekend but they soon mounted up and before I knew it I was on track for my award. For me volunteering enables me to make other friends, gain new experiences, help others and give something back to the community. Even at the age of 22 I am still volunteering, I currently help out at Birmingham Children’s Hospital offering emotional support to patients along with the Play Specialist team.

If you are aged 16 to 25 and want to volunteer, get involved and try something new - check out www.vinspired.com.