Welcome to the October edition of vInfo. It’s been a busy and exciting month for us. Our project evaluation is now in full swing, we had our Youth Volunteer Managers Forum on ‘Engaging and Motivating Young Volunteers’ which was attended by 100 delegates. To find out more about these events and to stay up to date with the latest youth volunteering news read on……
Youth Volunteer Managers Forum
Our October forum was the biggest yet and we received some amazing feedback.
It's been a great day - informative and thought provoking - thank you"
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"The event was informative, well organised and well attended."
If you were among the hundred delegates that attended we hope you found it useful and enjoyed the event as much as we did. It was great to see familiar faces and loads of new ones. The forum focused on engaging and motivating young volunteers and started with an inspiring presentation by specialist charity consultant, Sue Fidler followed by three breakout workshops on youth action, creating youth focused opportunities and creating full time opportunities.
Project Evaluation
We’re starting gathering information for our project evaluation, we plan to use the feedback we receive to improve the package we offer and to capture the impact of our work. Many of you may have received an email from us recently asking you to answer a few brief questions via our online questionnaire. If you haven’t managed to get around to it yet you still have time to fill it out and be entered in to a prize draw to win a FREE training place at a heavily oversubscribed workshop, delivered at the British Library by the leading training and consultancy provider Red Ochre, with a focus on developing skills in areas such as fundraising.
Exploring Youth Volunteering in the Recession
The National Youth Agency has published a report looking at the impact of the recession on young people’s volunteering. Exploring whether young people are more likely to volunteer as a result, what are their motivations and whether it has led to employment.
The key findings include:
An increase in young people volunteering over the last 12-18 months
Young people and employers value the skills and experience gained through volunteering.
Young people have a mixed attitude to accreditation.
Several successful approaches to engaging hard to reach groups.
The importance of not reducing volunteering simply to a work related activity.
The report produces some interesting key findings and is worth reading. You can take a look at the report here.
Youth Engagement: Young People’s Voice and Influence in Local Democracy
Youth Engagement: Young People’s Voice and Influence in Local Democracy is the new National Youth Agency Community of Practice forum. It builds upon the foundation of the former Hear by Right forum. It aims to provide a dedicated environment for professionals to share experiences and discuss challenges.
Grassroots Grants: Westminster – funding deadline extended
Grassroots Grants help to build thriving local communities, bringing people from different backgrounds together and empowering them to achieve change. You can apply for up to £5,000. Your group must have been active in your local area for at least 1 year before you apply and have an annual income of less than £30,000.
This is the last ever deadline for Grassroots grants.
John Lyon’s Charity
John Lyon’s Charity give grants to groups and organisations for the benefit of children and young adults who are resident in Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, City of London, Camden, Ealing, Brent, Harrow and Barnet.
They give grants to:
support education and training, particularly for young adults.
broaden horizons and encourage an appreciation of the value of
cultural diversity through activities such as dance, drama, music,
creative-writing and the visual arts.
provide child-care, support for parents, help where parental
support is lacking.
enhance recreation through sport, youth clubs and play schemes.
help young people achieve their full potential.
develop new opportunities for young people.
i-volunteer
i-volunteer is a social network for volunteers and people working with volunteers. This is a great resource for connecting with other people in the sector and getting news and sharing views on developments in the sector.
UKVPMs
UKVPMs is another great online forum where you can share experience and ask your peers for advice and guidance in the challenges you face.
Vinvolved Central London website
Our website has a new section for organisations which talks about the services we offer and provides information on past events.
Communications for a Big Society
The Big Society is now at the forefront of everyone’s minds, but can a charity and community sector facing unprecedented funding pressure make it all happen?
The Media Trust are offering the opportunity to go and meet leading Big Society minds and help find new ideas and solutions for our sector.
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