“We will offer over 2000 volunteering opportunities for young people in 2019.”
From 12-16th November 2018, YHA will be supporting the #iwill campaign in order to empower and celebrate the stories of our volunteers and to show how much impact they have on communities as well as YHA.
YHA’s ethos around volunteering is that it’s a fantastic way to learn new skills, boost your CV when applying for jobs, put yourself to the test and learn new skills, and it’s a great way to trval and give something back at the same time.
YHA was built by volunteers and is currently maintained by volunteers who choose to help out on working parties. Together, we work to help improve the health, wellbeing and life chances of all, but especially young people who may be facing adversity and challenges.
#iwill is a UK-wide campaign that aims to make social action a part of life for as many 10 to 20-year-olds as possible by 2020. Through collaboration and partnership, #iwill is spreading the word about the benefits of youth social action, working to embed it in the journey of young people and create fresh and exciting opportunities for participation. The campaign is being coordinated by the charity Step Up To Serve, governed by an independent board and has cross-party support.
YHA pledges to support the #iwill campaign by:
- continuing to provide opportunities for meaningful youth social action for all young people.
- developing new volunteering products, programmes and support to provide an industry-leading youth volunteering proposition which both recognises the environmental, community, and societal benefits and meets the needs of young people in building life skills and improving health and wellbeing.
- extending access to these opportunities to more young people with challenging lives for whom the benefits can be most impactful.
YHA will do this by:
- leading the way on encouraging children and young people to take action to support the environment – in 2019 we will dedicate resources to support the Year of Green Action
- expanding opportunities for social action for all young people through our network of youth hostels and the experiences that our places and people can offer: from visiting primary schools taking on citizen science projects to supported year-long volunteering projects for young adults.
- linking our volunteering opportunities to careers in hospitality, outdoor education and nature – with a particular focus on increasing access to volunteering, traineeships and apprenticeships for young people with challenging lives.
We will offer over 2000 volunteering opportunities for young people in 2019 alongside increased opportunities for primary-age children to take Green Action when they visit our hostels.
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