Updated 11 May 2012
Reach: Each year, babies are born in the UK missing part of one or both arms and hands and some children lose limbs or parts of limbs due to traumatic incidents or necessary surgery. Reach aims to provide affected families with the opportunity to get together, share experiences and information about what to do and where to go for advice on treatment and help them realise that they are not alone. Every year about 40 children with upper limb deficiency go on Reach Activity Week (RAW). These events are confidence building and life changing as Reach children are able to learn from each other and build supportive friendships. Funds are desperately needed for Reach to carry on providing RAWs. Participants may wish to get involved with a local branch or undertake a fundraising campaign for the national charity. W:
www.reach.org.uk T: 0845 1306 225 E:
reach@reach.org.uk
Live Below the Line is an incredible new awareness and fundraising campaign that's making a huge difference in the fight against extreme poverty. From May 7th - 11th, more than twenty thousand people across the Global North will spend their equivalent of the extreme poverty line each day on food, and use their daily experiences to bring extreme poverty to the centre of conversation in homes around the world. In the UK, the poverty line is £1 per day, meaning participants are going to have to go without their morning coffee and afternoon muffin. By living below the line for your DofE award, you can spread awareness of extreme poverty, organise your own fundraising campaign, as well as developing your social media campaign, campaign strategy and individual fundraising ideas. Download the pdf for more information. www.livebelowtheline.org.uk
Heritage centre volunteers: The 1745 House at Dunollie is a heritage centre just outside Oban newly opened to the public. We are at an exciting point in our development and over the next few years we will be expanding our exhibition space in order to display more of our collection and we will be undertaking a program of archaeological investigation and research into our grounds which includes the medieval castle. We have a varied and interesting selection of volunteer opportunities available: Visitor assistants, Castle Tour Guides, Cream Teas, Organising events, Marketing and promotion, manning events, Archive Group, Curatorial assistant, Grounds and Castle Maintenance, Wall consolidation, Path Construction, Gardening, Tree Thinning, Archaeology Research/Survey/Excavation/Post-Excavation Work/Grave Yard recording. We provide training and supervision for all volunteers. Contact Tara Coia, Learning and Events Officer, www.dunollie.org Dunollie House, Oban, Argyll PA34 5TT. 01631 570550. There are a range of potential volunteering opportunities at St John Ambulance. You might want to join a unit (either Cadets if you’re under 18 or an adult unit if you are 18+). By doing thing this you will be trained in vital life saving skills and will then be able to volunteer providing first aid cover at events like sports matches, concerts and festivals. Alternatively, you might want to become a youth leader and support a local Cadet or Badger unit. You will be trained in youth leadership and will help to run the unit and inspire other young people. There are also opportunities for behind-the-scenes volunteering such as fundraising, logistics, PR and volunteer support. Most opportunities at SJA are a long term commitment and we would hope that you would stay on after your DofE is complete. If you would like to find out more please complete this form and state in the ‘comments’ section which type of volunteering you would be most interested in.
The Children's University (CU) is a national organisation providing 7 - 14 year olds (and 5 - 6 year olds with families) with exciting and innovative learning activities and experiences outside normal school hours, at weekends and during school holidays. We celebrate achievement and reward participation through our national certificates. Raising children’s aspirations is important to us and we aim to develop the understanding in grown-ups that children can only aspire to what they know exists and in children that learning can be a satellite navigation system to better places in life. Across the 70-plus local CU centres in England and the many others in the rest of the British isles our focus is always first on those children who need our provision most but we are of course an inclusive movement for all those who wish to become CU students! If you are interested in volunteering for the Children’s University please visit
www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/local-childrens-universities/ The local CU centre will make you familiar with what we do, provides training and will encourage you to think outside the box! You will be able to evidence your volunteering in your ‘Passport To Volunteering’ and in that way be also properly accredited for your achievements by the national Children’s University.
Challenge Nepal new volunteering adventures with the charity Resolve International. Team work and individual volunteering in England combating child poverty in Nepal. Design your own awareness-raising project and fund-raise to combat poverty. Amazing Free Bronze resource pack full of ideas and advice available online or request a CD version.
www.resolveinternational.org
RNLI Volunteer Youth Advisory Board Member: Do you want to help save lives at sea? Would you like to meet new people? Do you want your voice to be heard and valued? Would you like to develop your team-working skills? Are you up to the challenge of improving the RNLI’s youth message? The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteer crews and lifeguards provide a 24-hour search and rescue service, as well as a seasonal lifeguard service on many of the busiest beaches in England and Wales. We have the ultimate reason to put our faith in young people – nearly 500 RNLI volunteer crew and lifeguards are aged between 17 and 22 years old. And, every day, they’re willing to risk their lives at sea to save the lives of others The RNLI Youth Advisory Board is a group of people aged 16-18 from across the UK and RoI who help the RNLI by consulting and advising on various projects involving youth engagement. You could use membership of this board as part of your Volunteering section work.
Details from here.
Become a Free to Dance Team Leader: Get training, skills, support & experience... Make a real impact. Free to Dance is about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, including everyone in a totally unique, freedom-filled event, using everyday freedoms to support those with none, and just having fun, letting go and being free. Team Leaders will promote Free to Dance in their area, recruiting people over the next 3 months to take part in a huge fundraising silent disco in October and raising awareness of the situation faced by people in Burma. Developing your skills whilst being supported by the Free to Dance Team and our network of Team Leaders you will find this a fun way to boost your CV whilst supporting an important cause. More details can be found at
www.free2dance.com or by emailing
Fiona@free2dance.com
The Wings of Hope Achievement Award (WOHAA): Want to do something incredible with your DofE volunteering? WOHAA is a unique challenge for students in years 9 -13 (S3 – S6) that not only helps you to develop skills needed beyond the academic arena, but also provides an opportunity to make a direct and long-lasting difference on the lives of children in the developing world! You are challenged to fundraise in all sorts of wonderful and wacky ways in your school and local area. We look for creativity and innovation with previous students doing a range of activities from cake sales to mufti days and sky dives! What’s more – the WOHAA team will be there to support you along the way. That’s not all: you will have the chance to win an incredible, all-expenses paid trip to our projects in India, gain work experience placements with top UK employers, you can apply for a WOHAA bursary to support you throughout your university studies, and we also offer free industry skills workshops for ALL WOHAA students run by our corporate partners! You can register online now at
www.wohaa.co.uk Don’t miss out – sign up today!
Helping older people: Want to gain new skills and have fun whilst doing something rewarding? The Abbeyfield Society, a not-for-profit care provider for older people, is looking for young volunteers to join its expanding community. Our key goal is ‘to enhance the quality of life for older people’. With over 700 houses and 80 care homes across the UK, we have a great array of volunteering opportunities available that will help us to achieve our goal. Ranging from resident befrienders to fundraisers and activities support workers, our roles appeal to all volunteers’ wants and needs. For those who would like to try a number of roles, we now offer a volunteering programme specific for DofE participants. For more information about volunteering with Abbeyfield, please go to
www.abbeyfield.com or contact Kathryn Edwards on:
k.edwards@abbeyfield.com
St John Ambulance: