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Vounteering at 15
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
in Work & Study
Hi,
I really want to volunteer but most of the places say that you have to be over 16, this really annoys me as I want to start volunteering as soon as possible so that when it comes to get a job I have a bit of experience within the line of work that I want to go into.
I want to be a learning mentor, I am going to apply to sixth form and then got to collage to do my NVQ's.
I want to volunteer at the weekends or after school. Does anyone know of any sites that take on mentors/befriending people, under the age of 16.
Thanks in advance.
I really want to volunteer but most of the places say that you have to be over 16, this really annoys me as I want to start volunteering as soon as possible so that when it comes to get a job I have a bit of experience within the line of work that I want to go into.
I want to be a learning mentor, I am going to apply to sixth form and then got to collage to do my NVQ's.
I want to volunteer at the weekends or after school. Does anyone know of any sites that take on mentors/befriending people, under the age of 16.
Thanks in advance.
0
Comments
I think it is a general rule that you can't volunteer unless you're over 16 or 18 because they have a responsibility over you and for insurance purposes... these places sometimes need credentials as well, so if you are helping people with personal problems then the company/charity you volunteer for need to know that you are reliable and will comply to their rules. I think you may have to wait until you are 16. I could be wrong, but I think from what I have learned, that is the way things are.
Good luck in finding some where to volunteer.
Hi there,
Have you searched on do-it.org ? On there you can search specifically for under 16 volunteering opportunities. You search by postcode and type of volunteering you want to do and it tells you what opportunities are available locally. I did a search using my postcode for under 16 volunteering for mentoring and quite a lots of opportunities came up including some specifically for 14 - 18 year olds, obviously it depends where you live though. Hope you find something
Hi Boglin,
Have you tried to volunteer with your school? This could range from helping out with PE lessons for younger kids to being involved with after school clubs.
You seem really keen on volunteering which is great, can I recommend Step into Sport? It is a volunteering scheme for 14-19 year olds, in particular sports volunteering, but offers extra incentives for disability and community volunteering. If you go to school in Surrey, you can join Active Surrey's Step into Sport scheme that offers support and rewards for young volunteers. If not, then I recommend you look into the national scheme.
Visit here for the national scheme and plenty of information about volunteering:
http://www.youthsporttrust.org/page/step-into-sport/index.html
Visit here for Active Surrey's Step into Sport scheme, for 14-19 yr olds that attend school in Surrey:
http://www.activesurrey.com/content-2703
Good Luck with your volunteering!
Sorry you are having trouble finding a volunteering opportunity. Unfortunately you are right; many organisations do not take volunteers under the age of 16
As Randomgirl suggests why not take a look at www.do-it.org.uk. You don’t mention where you live, so I am not sure where in particular you would like to volunteer, but put your postcode into do-it.org and it will bring up all the opportunities in your local area. As Randomgirl says you can also use the search box to choose your area of interest e.g. Mentoring . And in the ‘What would you like to do?’ field you can select ‘under 16 Volunteering’ so it will only bring up the opportunities you can do. I just tried this now (for London) and came up with opportunities like this one, which you could get involved in
On do-it.org there is also this useful fact sheet about volunteering for under 16s. You could also visit your local volunteer centre as they will know which organisations in your area will involve you as a volunteer before you turn 16.
You may also be able to volunteer through school. Does your school encourage volunteering or run any schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award? Or does it have any other projects where you can help mentor other students? I volunteered as a Peer Mentor when I was at school and helped other students with any problems they wanted to talk about which was great!
Hope that helps, let us know how you get on and if you find anything
Laura