Celebrating East Lothian's young volunteers
Did you know that, in 2022, young people contributed 9.7 million hours of formal volunteering?
That’s why, as part of Volunteering Week (2-8 June), we're celebrating all of our young volunteers.
Important contribution
Young volunteers bring so much to the community helping at community projects, local libraries, sports clubs, youth clubs and charities. Their contribution is so important: many organisations rely on young volunteers to keep going and, through their involvement, they also gain new perspectives, a different range of skills and different backgrounds to support their work.
It’s not just the groups that benefit from young volunteers: the volunteers themselves benefit greatly from the time that they give. They can gain more social skills, build new relationships and, what's more, they also get valuable experience that can help with future job or college applications.
Great experience
Sharon Young from Volunteer Centre East Lothian (VCEL) explains: “Volunteering helps young people to understand the community that they are a part of; it gets them involved nice and early. It also helps them in their careers. It goes without saying that you need experience to work in certain organisations and volunteering can help with that step and employability.
“As well as helping their community it can help them with mental health, making new friends and gaining new skills. There are so many benefits that can help young volunteers.”
VCEL’s mission is to: ‘To inspire, support and enable people and organisations to develop and advance as active members of their community.’ Not only does the team help groups to find volunteers, they are also available to help volunteers discover the right opportunity for them.
“We can help you find an opportunity that suits you whether that’s the type of activity you enjoy, such as gardening or working with animals or with an organisation that is close to your heart,” explains Sharon.
“We have a matching system so young people can come to the centre or set up a meeting online or over the phone, they can fill in an interest form and we can contact them with opportunities. It can be as simple as sending an email or we can help them fill out the form. We are here as an organisation to help young volunteers from start to finish.”
Here, two young volunteers share their experiences with Inform.
Dan’s story
“I would definitely recommend volunteering to other young people”
Dan started his volunteering journey with 1st Musselburgh Beavers as part of his bronze Duke of Edinburgh award. He found he loved it so much that he stayed on after he’d completed until the unit closed down.
He now volunteers at 1st Musselburgh Cubs and says he has learnt a lot about working with younger children and how to keep them engaged in activities. He has also increased his confidence and communication skills.
When asked about challenges, Dan mentions building confidence while trying to take on more responsibility but has overcome these issues, saying: “At first, I wasn’t sure how much I should take the lead or step in to help, but over time I’ve learned to trust myself more. I’ve also learned how to stay calm in busy situations and support the leaders without needing to be told what to do.”
Dan would recommend volunteering to other people: “It’s a great way to build skills, meet people, and do something meaningful,” he says. “Even just a few hours a week can make a big difference both for the group you’re helping and for your own personal growth.”
Anwen’s story
“Find somewhere you love and you will enjoy it”
When Anwen had to find a place to volunteer for her Duke of Edinburgh award it was a very easy decision for her to go and help at her local parkrun. She said: “My family do parkruns and parkrun can’t do it without volunteers so I wanted to help just to keep it going.”
It wasn't always easy as the weather wasn't always on her side but she kept going and had a great time while doing so.
Anwen volunteered at her local parkrun for five months and, in that time, she gained new connections, better communication skills and more confidence.
Anwen’s message to anyone thinking about volunteering is clear: “The hardest part is getting in touch and the fear of someone saying no but what's the worst that can happen? Once you have been for the first few weeks and met some new friends, it is just a great experience.”