A huge thank you to our amazing volunteers
On 5th December the UN marked the invaluable work that volunteers do all over the world with International Volunteer Day. We’re doing the same, as we simply couldn’t have the impact we do, without the hundreds who give up their time each year…
This year the UN called for people worldwide to ‘Volunteer Now for Our Common Future’ spelling out that ‘for the generations of tomorrow we must take responsibility for the changes needed to build a better future now.’
And that’s what our amazing SLN volunteers do each month. We have hundreds of volunteers working with us to inspire young people across the county to explore, and progress onto, exciting new learning opportunities that can transform their lives. Among them are:
- A growing group of parents who help other parents and carers support young people through the maze of university, college and apprenticeship options with invaluable advice, insights and videos
- Fantastic students who give up their time while they are studying at university to share their life insights and knowledge with younger peers through our popular Role Models programme
- A dedicated group of foster carers who mentor care experienced young people through their university experience and provide a monthly home cooked Sunday lunch for them through our innovative Home Comforts programme
- A growing number of student Peer Coaches who are recruited by our college based Go Further co-ordinators, to provide valuable peer-to-peer guidance and support to other students. Peer Coaches give up their free time to talk to Year 11 students about college life, help out at open evenings and offer study skills support to other students. A video created by our Go Further Peer Coaches can be viewed here.
Each month our army of volunteers enrich, and even transform, young peoples’ lives by sharing their knowledge, insights and time.
But it’s not just young people who benefit. Many of our volunteers tell us they also gain through volunteering. Our parent volunteers tell us they gain enormous satisfaction from helping other parents negotiate a system that can at first seem bewildering, whilst many of our Role Model students have seen their confidence and employability boosted by taking part in the programme.
The UN’s latest research backs this up, with people who volunteer every 2-4 weeks being 12% more likely to be ‘very happy’ compared with people who have never volunteered .
So, why not make 2022 the year you join the millions making a difference? Who knows? Your contribution could boost your feeling of life worth while transforming someone else’s life chances. To get in touch and find out more about volunteering for our programmes email Fay Lofty by clicking here.