Young volunteers toolkit now available for organisations
Published on: 21st July 2011
A toolkit aimed at helping organisations make their volunteering programmes accessible to young people is now available from Volunteer Centre Leeds.
Produced by Voluntary Action-Leeds and the youth team at Learning Partnerships, the Young Volunteers Toolkit helps organisations that are looking to introduce young people into their volunteering programmes. It looks at the benefits of using young volunteers, and gives advice on safeguarding, insurance and health and safety considerations, minimum age, young volunteers on benefits and expenses.
The benefits of using young volunteers are many. They can bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to organisations, plus heaps of energy and enthusiasm. Young people can help organisations to keep up to date with new media.
For young people themselves volunteering can greatly enhance their chances of getting a job, and can help them decide on a vocation or career pathway.
The toolkit will also help increase the number of volunteering opportunities for young people – identified as one of the key objectives of the 2011 European Tear of Volunteering in Leeds
Natasha Mort, volunteering development manager for Voluntary Action Leeds said:
“The Young Volunteers Toolkit complements the original Volunteering Toolkit, which was launched during the 2010 Leeds Year of Volunteering.
“Both of these documents provide useful information to help organisations that want to establish volunteering programmes, and now additional advice on how to extend this to young people and contribute to all the benefits that volunteering brings to them.”
Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, champion for volunteering in Leeds said:
“Becoming involved in volunteering is extremely rewarding for people of all ages. I would like to encourage organisations to do all that they can to make their volunteering programmes accessible to young people, and this new toolkit is a great first step to help them to do this.”
Councillor Judith Blake, executive member with responsibility for children’s services in Leeds said:
"We want there to be as many volunteering opportunities as possible available for young people across Leeds to get involved in.
“Young people can offer so much to organisations in terms of ideas, enthusiasm and creativity, and the experience and new skills that they get through volunteering can prove invaluable in helping them to find jobs in the future.”
f you would like a free printed copy of the toolkit, please contact Natasha Mort, volunteering development manager at VA-L email natasha.mort@val.org.uk or call Leeds 395 0405.
Download a copy from the VA-L website at http://www.val.org.uk/page/toolkit
