Young encouraged to 'take a chance' and volunteer

Voluntary Action Rotherham has kicked off Take A Chance On Me this month in a bid to shine the spotlight on young volunteers as well as encourage more voluntary and community sector groups to create roles specifically for the younger generation.

A VAR spokesperson said: “We have been gathering stories from people who had volunteered in their younger days and how this shaped them and helped them get to where they are today.

“One olunteer started with a local charity which supported families in a peer support role.

“Through the support of the volunteer coordinators at the charity, which they described as 'a great confidence boost', they went on to apply for a job in outreach work.

“We also reached out to one of our VCSE members – Rotherham United Community Trust – who have been working with young volunteers for a long time, and take a lot of pride in developing and training them up.

“One of their younger volunteers, who started at the trust on work experience, told us: 'That experience sparked my passion for working with young people, and I’ve been fortunate to volunteer on some amazing projects since.'

“We hope our video campaign sparks interest and starts conversations.”

Voluntary groups in Rotherham wanting to find out more about creating roles for young people, or any young people wishing to volunteer, should contact VAR by emailing [email protected] or calling 07716 919416.