The young volunteer army saving us millions

1 September 2009 1 min read Jon Jolly Youth Work

Over the summer holidays I've had the privilege of working alongside more than 50 enthusiastic teenagers. These young people, who gave up their own time voluntarily, were helping to provide fun and memorable activities for hundreds of younger children. They sang, played sports, danced, did art and craft activities, and even got voted into a gunge tank on some occasions.

These summer activities have become a regular feature for us locally and we always have a large number of young people wanting to volunteer because they know it is worthwhile.

Sometimes though it can be a risk to accept certain young people in a voluntary capacity as they may not be suitable for the role. I remember a few years ago, a particular young person wanted to join the team and volunteer at a play scheme we were running. Due to his ongoing offending behaviour and reputation in the community, we were unable to accept him. We dangled the carrot that he could be involved when there was a significant change in his attitude.

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits: