Young Volunteers
Search for Volunteering Opportunities
New opportunities added daily. Powered by Be Collective.
You can gain so much by volunteering as a young person by..
- making a difference to a cause, individuals or an organisation that you are passionate about
- meeting a new people
- having fun
- gaining new skills and enhancing the ones you already have
- boosting your CV, UCAS and employability
Our guide will take you through how to search and apply for a volunteering opportunity using our website as well as how to gain your recognition, as a young volunteer inspiring change, through the Volunteer Now Impact Awards. (Note: if you are aged under 16 a parent / guardian will need to set up an account first and they can find more information about this here)
Volunteer Now Impact Awards
Young volunteers inspiring change
On 2 June 2021 we launched the Volunteer Now Impact Awards – ‘Young volunteers inspiring change’. This recognition programme will replace the Millennium Volunteers programme and will enable all young people to receive recognition for the hours that they complete through our online platform (powered by Be Collective).
Simply register on our website, create a profile and join your volunteering organisation as well as the Volunteer Now Impact Awards group. As soon as you reach your landmark number of hours, we will send you your certificate electronically! It will appear in your social profile and will form part of your social CV, ready for download, printing and saving.
Don’t worry if you have hours already recognised through Millennium Volunteers – we can ensure that they are not forgotten!
For more information contact youth@volunteernow.co.uk
Social Action
Want to do something a bit different but not sure what to do? Social Action can give you the opportunity to make a difference either on your own or with a group of friends.
T:buc volunteers in Lisburn completed their social action on ‘Action for Happiness’. Below is their video:
Volunteer Now support social action through:
- Putting you in touch with an organisation that you can get involved with
- Supporting your group to develop and implement a project around your issue/cause
- Helping you think about the impact that you have made as a result of your social action!
Social Action projects supported by Volunteer Now include:
- Bullying
- Positive mental health
- Suicide awareness
- Positive relationships
- Support for charities like NI Children’s Cancer Care, PIPS (Newry, Mourne and Down)
Email youth@volunteernow.co.uk to find out more.
Overseas Volunteering
Interested in Volunteering Overseas?
There are loads of brilliant opportunities to make a difference to a community or cause from as little as a couple of weeks to a year or more.
Download our latest Steps Around the World publication for more information.
The Comhlámh Code of Good Practice (CoGP) for volunteer sending agencies is a set of standards for organisations involved in facilitating international volunteer placements in the global south. Established in 2005, the CoGP is based on a vision of volunteers working in solidarity for a just, equitable and sustainable world, ensuring that overseas volunteering has a positive impact for the local project and community, the volunteer and the sending agency. Look out for their logo when searching for a volunteering opportunity overseas.
Recognition/Skills
It’s great to have recognition for the time that you have given to your organisation. It shows yourself and others that you:
- can commit to something for a sustained period of time
- are willing to give your time, energy and skills for the benefit of others without any financial reward
- know the importance of thinking of others!
Have you thought about the skills you have gained as a result of your volunteering?
“From my experience I loved working with the young children and learning and developing skills, such as, leadership, responsibility and communication” (200 Hour Awardee, 2018)
“I loved developing my skills and meeting new people while at the same time challenging myself to do things that I would never have considered I could do well.” (200 Hour Awardee, 2018)
Research has been undertaken on the skills gained through volunteering and we encourage you to value and appreciate the positive impact volunteering has on your personal and professional development.
Think about:
- Communication: verbal and written
- Timekeeping
- Numeracy
- IT
- Flexibility
- Responsibility
- Customer awareness
- Problem solving
Email youth@volunteernow.co.uk to find out more.
Ambassadors
Willing to share your story?
Young people tell us that they will volunteer if:
- Their friends are volunteering too
- They know how to get involved
- They have peer support
- They can make a difference
- It’s seen to be cool!
- It’s interesting and fun
- It benefits their CV, UCAS or employability
They also tell us that having someone their own age telling them about their own volunteering experience is more meaningful than someone else!
So…would you be willing to share your story within your own organisation? We are looking for young volunteers who would be willing to be ambassadors within their own organisations so that they can encourage more young people to volunteer.
If you are interested, we can provide a short training course so that you have the skills and confidence to talk about your experiences.
Email: youth@volunteernow.co.uk on how to become an Ambassador
