Volunteering
Volunteering means giving up some of your free time to help others, without payment (although expenses may be paid).
Why do it?
- Feel-good factor - the satisfaction of helping others
- Develop new skills
- Gain valuable experience
- Make good use of free-time while at school/college, or as part of a gap year.
Remember - there's a surprisingly wide range of opportunities for you to explore, eg sports coaching, youth forums, community radio.
There's lots of information on the Youth Information Website.
Opportunities in York
V Project: A Youth Volunteering Project (16–25 year olds), which can offer 'one-off' tasters in volunteering, or part-time voluntary work and project opportunities.
You can contact a Youth Volunteer Adviser at the York Volunteer Centre.
National organisations
| V-inspired: Volunteering site for 16–25 year olds |  |
| Do it!: National database for young people wanting to volunteer |  |
| Duke of Edinburgh Award: Volunteering is part of this award, which you may be able to get involved in through school, college, or youth club. |  |
Some national organisations have their own youth volunteering programme. These include:
If you are 18 or over, you could also consider volunteering overseas during holidays or as part of a gap year.
Hints and tips
Think about:
- What skills/experience you have to offer?
- Do you want to develop new skills, or contribute to a cause that's important to you?
- How much spare time you can spare and how regularly.
- Would it be helpful to get relevant work experience, which could help you in your future career?
