V-Involved supports 16 to 25 year olds in becoming volunteers

By learning creative skills young people have developed radio shows and involved themselves in community activities. They have met a wide range of people, developed interview skills and raised their awareness of the wider community. Activities have also included website building, exploring visual arts, giving presentations to community groups and members of the Council

Why they need our service

The project has given young people from a variety of backgrounds the opportunity to come together to share their skills with others of different community groups and a wide age range. It also allows them to explore new skills, build self-confidence and offer them the opportunity to move on to other projects. It has given people in the area the chance to see young people in a positive light

Plan and expected results

We sent flyers to youth based projects and linked up with Voluntary Action Calderdale who were also running a V-involved programme. During the summer we run a summer university through the Council which has attracted volunteers and also connected to schools running volunteer programmes. This has created a network of volunteering opportunities which we are now a part of

Final Results

We have attracted young volunteers from across Calderdale and been able to offer a variety of skills training. As part of the grant stipulations we have also passed REACH, a quality assurance qualification. Although we have had many successes and even had young volunteers on regional television because of their work, we have yet to impact on newer settlers to Calderdale. However, we have met with a worker from Calderdale Multi-agency Assessment Service (CMAS) to look at ways of supporting young people into volunteering opportunities through the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). Another meeting has been arranged to look at ways that we can work jointly to support people with physical or learning disabilities, low income, offenders/ex offenders, refugees, young parents and young people in or leaving care. We have also met with staff at Queens Road Neighbourhood Centre to look at ways of engaging young people who have settled in the Park Ward area as refugees. Staff from Voluntary Action Calderdale broadcast a weekly show and are currently involving a young man from Tuareg, Africa with the view of engaging more people from this area to develop programmes to be broadcast as part of our Cultural Mix Programme. We are also due to meet with a group of young asylum seekers with a view to developing podcasts

Latest activities and projects

V-Involved supports 16 to 25 year olds in becoming volunteers

By learning creative skills young people have developed radio shows and involved themselves in community activities. They have met a wide range of people, developed interview skills and raised their awareness of the wider community. Activities have also included website building, exploring visual arts, giving presentations to community groups and members of the Council read more