I am a teacher by trade and the most successful projects that I worked on were based around raising the self-esteem and aspirations of young people at risk of exclusion. I've always volunteered in various capacities, particularly football, so the opportunity to mix the two was too good to miss when this job came up.
The Positive Futures vteam works with young people to help them get volunteering placements. We specialise in supporting sports coaching and have projects at all the football league clubs in London. We also like to help young volunteers get nationally recognised practical qualifications to go with their volunteering. These can be coaching badges in sports like football and boxing as well as dance and music.
We're looking at volunteering from an angle of getting young people "work ready", so we tell them we're helping them to get work experience and qualifications at the same time. Some really get it and are enthusiastic and some say they just aren't interested. It's the same with a lot of things though.
Volunteering in the past has not been seen as very sexy. We try to open people's eyes and move away from the charity shops and litter picking image. If it benefits the community and you're not paid a wage, it's volunteering. The benefits to young people are practical experience, accredited qualifications, training and professional development and more often than not the feel-good factor of helping others.
For those young people who find themselves excluded from society and mainstream school, volunteering is an opportunity for achievement; experience of work; personal development and growth; and most importantly, success that may not occur otherwise.
