Having had personal experiences of the impact volunteers make during a six month spell in and out of hospital, I was inspired to give back to my local community. Many young people may find it difficult to find volunteering positions that are flexible around their studies and other commitments or available for their age group. However, with research and patience, voluntary work can have a lasting impact on your life and outlook.
My first real volunteering position was through an amazing charity called the Lions Club, which has groups globally and, whether in Birmingham or Brazil, there is always a Lion willing to help. On a local scale, I was thrilled to help run the Lions’ “Talking Newspaper”, which is a recording of volunteers reading key stories from local newspapers so that the visually impaired can feel more connected to their town events. Although I am the youngest volunteer in my unit by a couple of decades, the knowledge and confidence that I have gained through working alongside other passionate individuals was a brilliant experience and I have learnt immensely from their wisdom and generosity. Whether through being an elf on the Christmas markets or realising that we were giving away rare Beanie Boos on a raffle, the Lions have offered me an insight into how a collective goal can result in real change on such a dramatic level, not only assisting personal cases within a local community but also working towards improving eyesight in children globally and diabetes care.
Volunteering through an amazing tutoring organisation called MentorJr has allowed me to build a long term connection with younger pupils and watch them flourish and begin to revel in learning. Initially established by sixth form students from Godolphin and Latymer School in London, MentorJr aims to bridge the educational gap and offer free weekly tutoring sessions online with older students. The young people who volunteer their time each week are truly remarkable and their expertise and joy at helping their younger peers is palpable. My personal experience of tutoring twin seven year old boys has not only taught me very important patience skills but also how to adapt complex information for different audiences and ensure that they understand the lessons. Aside from the satisfaction of watching them begin to understand topics they previously struggled with, the bond I created with the boys is amazing and I began to look forward to seeing their huge smiles every week and hearing about how well they were doing in school. Even if it was only for one hour a week, I felt that I was part of a larger movement and taking small steps to help younger pupils achieve their educational dreams without the need for payment or travelling.
Another amazing charity that young people are encouraged to get involved with is “Kissing it Better”, an organisation aiming to reduce loneliness within the older population through weekly Zoom calls with young people from all over the world. “Kissing it Better” offers the amazing chance to learn about different generations’ experiences through adversities such as war, pandemics and things as simple as their schooling experience. Learning about the experiences of older people allows young people to become more aware of different generations’ needs and promotes sensitivity. Not only does it help older people feel connected to today’s youth and learn about things such as social media and the modern school system’s pressure of GCSEs, it also offers young people a fascinating insight into history and encourages them to use their listening skills with older people in their own lives.
Brownies, Rainbows and Girlguiding also allow anyone over the age of fourteen to get involved with helping their younger members through assisting sessions. My personal experience of volunteering with my local Brownies allowed me to take part in fun activities such as sparklers, making smores, and arts and crafts. The relationships I created with the girls made me excited to return every week and help to provide joyful memories and lots of laughs that they will remember into the future.
Volunteering as a young person requires regular commitment and passion for helping. The beauty of volunteering is that it does not require any particular skills, just willingness to help and dedication. I would encourage any young person to get involved with some of the amazing opportunities available to them, both locally and nationally as many have become more accessible due to becoming online in the pandemic.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we all have to abide by restrictions such as social distancing and prevent unnecessary trips, the opportunities of carrying out face to face interaction within the community are extremely difficult. However the masks and social distancing does not stop one from volunteering and serving the community, just in an alternative way. I got sick very often as a child, therefore when I’m grew older, I wanted to do as much as I could to give back to society. Through writing letters to house-bound, isolated elderly people in the UK and the US, I became their ‘pen-pal’. I became the a person who they can write to, spend time with and most importantly, have their hopes up to live another day instead of thinking negatively amidst the pandemic. Although it is impossible to fit myself in their shoes entirely, it allowed me to understand more of how an elderly person feels when they are living alone, with little to no friends or family visiting. I can feel the warmth in their letters, the eagerness to connect with the community and when I see pictures of them enjoying the smallest things in life, I see the sparkle in their eyes and it has motivated me to do better. Overall, it made me feel all the time writing letters and drawing are all worth it.
As we are all living in a digital era, I was surprised how one can connect with another using pens and papers, without using the internet, without having to meet them in person, without having to chat everyday. However, the bond is so strong that it makes you feel like your pen-pal is sitting right next to you. I was frustrated at the very beginning as I was unable to participate in any volunteering due to age restrictions and lockdowns, and I thought that writing letters would not help as much. This experience has encouraged me to continue serving the community, therefore I joined the NHS Youth Forum, hoping to voice concerns to the NHS from a teenager’s point of view which would help improve the NHS as a whole. I am currently a member of the widening access team of the NHS Youth Forum, where we aim at providing a more equal access across England, and for those who would like to pursue a career in the NHS to obtain more experiences in the field. By gaining more experience they would be able to understand the medical sector more and discover their passion. I know all these experiences may sound small, however these small actions and steps will bring positive changes to society, more than you can ever imagine.
The world of youth volunteering can be incredibly daunting. Young people searching for an initial voluntary programme can often feel as if they are constantly met with barriers of age, qualification and experience. Consequently, volunteering can feel like an impossible field to enter. I wanted to highlight my journey into youth activism and show it is never too late to start making your voice heard and to represent other young people.
Before going to university, my experience of youth representation was limited. I had participated in equality, diversity and inclusion services as part of my sixth form college, and had been a school prefect, but I had not participated in any external services. However when I arrived at university, a few factors made me want to find ways to speak up and represent the opinions and experiences of children and young people on a larger scale. Firstly, I began to understand more about the negative experiences that my parents and my non-verbal autistic brother have faced with the NHS children and young people’s service. This stemmed from a lack of understanding from clinicians on my brother’s needs, as well as inflexible treatment plans that disallowed the individual variations that are intrinsic to neurodivergent children and young people. This felt particularly frustrating as my brother is unable to articulate these injustices himself. I felt a responsibility to represent his viewpoint and to pioneer for change.
Another significant motivator to get involved in youth activism for me was my exposure to the health inequalities experienced by LGBTQIA+ individuals within healthcare systems. In medical school, I was exposed to some of the alarming healthcare outcomes for LGBTQIA+ individuals within our healthcare system. In parallel to this, I was shocked by a lack of understanding by clinicians and fellow medical students. I found that this was primarily due to a lack of education on the mechanisms contributing to these inequalities, and an absence of LGBTQIA+ narratives within healthcare. I wanted to do something to raise awareness of the healthcare stories of queer youth, and to advocate for education on the health inequalities experienced by marginalised groups within our healthcare systems. These two factors propelled me to look for ways in which I could make a change outside of my university and social spheres.
As I began this process, I felt as if I was already behind. As a 19-year-old, I had missed out on a lot of the youth voice programmes designed for school-age individuals, and was too young and inexperienced to join many of the more structured advocacy services within the NHS. When I found the NHS Youth Forum, I recognised that this service offered exactly what I wanted. This would give me the opportunity to have my voice represented on a much larger scale, and to collaborate with other young people on projects that I was incredibly passionate about. I got through to the interview stage, and felt very intimidated by the amount of lived experience that the other people in my interview had. When I was initially not accepted onto the forum, this did not come as a surprise to me, as I felt as if I did not have enough experience for the programme. Although this was disappointing, I felt as if I could continue to work on a smaller scale within my university to tackle some of the inequalities I was passionate about fighting against. However, a few weeks later, I got an email asking if I was still interested in the forum. I was incredibly excited to get involved. I am now part of the NHS Youth Forum, and I am enjoying my time incredibly.
There are still times when I do feel my lack of experience. In spite of this, I remind myself of why I am there. I am passionate about standing up for what I believe is right, and this is independent of the amount of experience I have had.
There are three main points that I can take from my journey into youth volunteering. Firstly, it is never too late to enter into activism. Regardless of your experience or your prior knowledge, if you have a passion for something, there are ways in which you can pursue it. Secondly, resilience is paramount to success. You will have times when you feel as if the voluntary field is inaccessible, but if you can pick yourself up and continue to engage with every opportunity that you encounter, you will find a way for your voice to be heard. Finally, if you do feel that something is wrong, you have the ability to take action. Your voice is more powerful than you think.
I am now working on a project within the Youth Forum to identify youth perceptions and priorities in the field of healthcare inequalities. These will then be compared to the views of clinicians to identify differences in opinions. This work involves representing many of the inequalities that motivated me to enter youth volunteering and I am incredibly excited to see the potential impact of this vital project.
In September 2021, the British Youth Council issued an appeal to its supporters to complete sponsored litter picks in their local area, fundraising for the British Youth Council, in the Big Autumn Litter Pick. The appeal came in the run-up to COP26 and in the year where the UK Youth Parliament and Youth Councils across the country were campaigning to stop plastic pollution. Last year, Stop Plastic Pollution was voted as one of three top priority issues facing young people in the 2020 Mark Your Mark election.
It is understandable why young people are alarmed at the rate of plastic pollution occurring in the UK. The average Briton’s annual plastic waste includes 242 plastic bottles, 109 single-use coffee cups and 209 crisp packets. According to OSPAR (2009), eight million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into our oceans daily. Approximately 5,000 items of marine plastic pollution have been found per mile of beach in the UK, according to the Marine Conservation Society (2016), and this includes the shores of coastal communities such as Blackpool.
Plastic production also directly contributes to the climate crisis. Producing one ton of plastic generates up to 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide, according to Material Economics (2018). So stopping plastic pollution is a critical front in the battle for the future.
In order to contribute to tackling plastic pollution and raise funds for the British Youth Council, Blackpool Youth Council were the first Youth Council in the country to heed the call of the Big Autumn Litter Pick.
In September, Blackpool Youth Council agreed that the ideal time to carry out the litter pick was in October half-term. October is one of the busiest tourist seasons for Blackpool which often results in a great deal of plastic being littered along the Promenade, with tourists choosing to dump their waste rather than take it home. This happens much to the disgruntlement of residents, particularly local young people. There was also substantial plastic pollution around the Bloomfield Road Football Stadium, after a derby match between Blackpool F.C. and rivals Preston North End the previous weekend.
When asked why he did it, Andrew Speight, Member of Youth Parliament for Blackpool, Chair of Blackpool Youth Council and UK Youth Parliament Steering Group representative for the North West, said:
“The British Youth Council is a charity that has well and truly changed my life, as well as enabling me to help change the lives of other young people locally and nationally. Whilst participating in British Youth Council programmes, I have nurtured many skills which have led me to find employment and campaigned for change on issues which are important to young people The litter pick was part of that campaign.
Last year, in Make Your Mark, young people across the nation made it absolutely clear that they wanted action on plastic pollution. My constituents here in Blackpool have also been telling me for years now, even since before I was elected, of their disgust at the behaviour of tourists who dump their rubbish in our home and then drive off. It is not ours, as their representatives, to reason why this result came out of Make Your Mark, it is ours simply to do. I was acting on instruction from the young people I represent.
Although litter picks do stop some plastic pollution, they are ultimately an inadequate solution, as even a group of pickers cannot stop all plastic ending up in the ocean. In order to adequately address the problem in reality, it is important to remember that we need to turn off the tap at the source and reduce plastic production. No amount of litter picks will truly solve the problem.”
The Blackpool Big Autumn Litter Pick took place on 27th October 2021, in the midst of a ferocious rainstorm which was particularly vicious by the sea. Nonetheless, Blackpool Youth Council and young volunteers from local community interest company URPotential went straight onto the promenade, undeterred by the heavy rain, and conducted a thorough litter pick, as well as picking in the nearby areas of Bloomfield and Revoe.
Blackpool Youth Council found a variety of disgusting droppings around the Town, ranging from beer bottles to COVID-19 test packaging in a local park.
In order to incentivise sponsorship, Blackpool Youth Council members dressed in a comedic fashion.
Annie commented, “I did the litter pick because when I heard about the British Youth Council’s Big Autumn Litter Pick I thought it was a great idea to help raise awareness of plastic pollution while raising funds. It was important to me as I am concerned about climate change and plastic pollution has a direct and deadly effect on wildlife. Young people should be involved with litter picking to set a good example and raise awareness.”
Rob added, “I did it because this is where I’ve grown up, and seeing it like it is made me want to do something about it, it’s my home, and I won’t sit there and let this happen. It’s very important because as I’ve grown up, as I’ve learnt more about the messes that are in and around Blackpool, the more it irked me. I grew up here, and it’s in one hell of a state. Something needed to be done, and I wanted to help as much as I can.”
Blackpool Youth Council successfully completed a significant amount of fundraising. As of 1st November, they have raised over £200 (including Gift Aid) towards the national £500 target, meaning they’ve contributed over 40% of the total funds – a significant achievement and greatly valued contribution.
Find out more about the Big Autumn Litter Pick or get involved : https://www.byc.org.uk/blog/2021/the-british-youth-councils-big-autumn-litter-pick
This year, the British Youth Council are going to be taking part in the Big Give Challenge for a fifth year in a row! The Big Give is the UK’s biggest online match funding campaign, which helps charities raise millions each year, and gives supporters an amazing opportunity to have their donations doubled.
Over the course of the campaign, the British Youth Council are aiming to raise £4,000 overall towards our life-changing programmes elevating Youth Voice.
How does it work?
From 12pm Tuesday 30 November 2021 to 12pm to Tuesday 7 December 2021, every donation made via our special Big Give webpage will be doubled*.
So if you donate £10, it becomes worth £20. If you donate £25, it becomes worth £50, and so on.
We need the support of those passionate about elevating youth voice to help raise £2,000, which will be matched by pledges of £2,000 already secured from generous donors and our charity champion, Four Acre Trust.
*Donations are doubled until all pledges funds are exhausted.
Why donate?
Young people feel that their voices are not being heard. They feel worried about their future and disconnected from a society that doesn’t take their concerns seriously.
The British Youth Council helps young people from all backgrounds get connected and use their voice to create change on issues they care about – whether that is finance and economics, healthcare, education or mental health. Through a wide range of programmes and membership services, we educate and train young people to influence and inform the decisions that affect their lives. This enables them to have their say and make them feel engaged in social action.
Through our Big Give campaign, you can help us make sure that young people are heard and given the skills they need to become leaders of tomorrow – and double your impact at the same time.
How do I donate?
Only donations made during the campaign dates on our page of the Big Give website will be doubled. This link will go live on Tuesday 30th November at midday.
The campaign will then run until 12pm midday on Tuesday 7th December, unless we meet our target beforehand.
Donations made outside of these times and dates (or on our British Youth Council webpage rather than our Big Give webpage) will still come to the charity, but won’t be doubled or counted towards the Big Give total.
In 2020’s Make Your Mark ballot, young people voted both plastic pollution and climate change in their top five priority issues. This year, the UK Youth Parliament will be campaigning to address climate change at a national level with a particular focus on making sure that we stop non-essential single use plastics by 2025.
The British Youth Council recognises that solutions like litter picks and recycling are not enough, and that the Government must reduce the amount of plastics initially produced. However, the sad reality is that the average Briton’s annual plastic waste includes 242 plastic bottles, 109 single-use coffee cups and 209 crisp packets according to a DS Smiths poll, and a good proportion of that does still end up littering our communities.
This autumn the British Youth Council are encouraging you as our supporters to keep your communities tidy, reduce plastic pollution, and raise money for the British Youth Council all at the same time. We are looking to raise £500 to support our programmes and campaigns such as Stop Plastic Pollution, and we need your help!
All you have to do is:
- Get your kit together! – grab some bin bags, rubber gloves and litter pickers – you can order these online or borrow kits from your local council – and organise a day to go to your local woods, park, beach or town centre and pick up any stray litter you find. Many local organisations also run community litter picks, so you could arrange to tag along with one of those if you would prefer.
- Get a group of friends together to have more of an impact – the more of you there are, the easier it will be to clean up more rubbish, and the more money you’ll be able to raise.
- Set up a Virgin Money Giving or Facebook Donate fundraising page, where your friends and family can sponsor you for your hard work. Remember to share your fundraising page often, and keep your family and friends updated with photos of you on your litter pick.
- Finally, dispose of the litter that you pick up in a sensible and sustainable way. Recycle anything that can be recycled, and be careful of any sharp objects that you find.
This a really fun way to keep your local area tidy, promote the reduction of single-use plastic within your community, and raise vital funds for the British Youth Council to put towards our campaigns such as Stop Plastic Pollution.
We encourage you to visit the Keep Britain Tidy website for more information and advice on preparation and safety before you begin your Litter Pick!
You can also support us by making a donation via our Virgin Money Giving page.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing fundraising@byc.org.uk.
I have spoken to a number of people interested in becoming a charity trustee. There are two common questions:
- What exactly is a trustee?
- Have I really got the experience to contribute?
I won’t dwell on the first question too much, as other blogs cover it – as does extensive information online (I would recommend ‘The Essential Trustee’.
However, the second question is probably a simpler answer than most people expect.
When people think of boards, they often think of highly qualified professionals in formal attire sitting around a table and talking about complex issues. Professionals who ‘know their stuff’. This means a lot of people – regardless of age – are nervous about what they would bring to a board of trustees. The truth is that these fears are missing the point.
The most effective charity boards I have seen have trustees who are inquisitive. Trustees who ask questions and ask for clarity. These questions are crucial to picking up on things that might otherwise have been missed, or to thinking of new ways of working – and it absolutely does not need to be heavily experienced individuals asking the questions. Indeed, the most effective boards I have seen are genuinely diverse. Diverse in terms of level of experience, background, interests, you name it. What is important is that Trustees can offer different perspectives.
So, what do you need to be an effective trustee? I would say:
- A willingness to speak up – the ability to ask questions and challenge the status quo
- A curiosity in the charity and its strategy
- A real desire to make a difference to the charity and its beneficiaries
Despite how it may be coming across, I am not saying that boards don’t need expertise. They definitely do. Indeed, varied experience across the board is crucial to effective governance. However, what I am saying is that to become a trustee, you don’t need to know it all. At the age of 24, I myself can absolutely not pretend to know even close to ‘it all’. As the title says, if you have the desire to make a difference, you’re almost certainly more qualified to be a trustee than you might think.
Being a trustee is a responsible role. It can at times be challenging, and issues you may not have seen before will often come up. But if you’re passionate and interested – and most importantly willing to speak up and contribute – you can be in no doubt that you will be an asset to the board. The British Youth Council has the most welcoming and supportive board you could ask for, so don’t shy away from applying if you’re interested in becoming a trustee.
We are currently looking for people with experience in people, change management, finance and risk for our ongoing appointment round. As is the theme throughout this blog, this experience can come in different shapes and sizes. You may have gained experience through volunteering, or through school or university. You may have a part-time or full-time job that deals with related issues. If this sounds like you, we would be keen to hear from you and hear a bit more about what you might have to offer as well as why you might want to support the British Youth Council.
If you would like to join our Board of Trustees, find out more. And if you’re still having doubts, why not reach out to a trustee for a chat?
Sunday 25th July saw the return of large-scale organised runs in the capital, with the ASICS London 10k taking over the streets between Oxford Street and Westminster.
The British Youth Council team, made up of supporters and partners, took part in this exciting run to raise vital funds in support of our work empowering young people to share their voice and create meaningful change. A cheer team was also on hand to provide a boost to all of the runners and to soak up the atmosphere of the event.
Overall, the British Youth Council team raised a phenomenal £1,112. This is an incredible achievement from our runners, and all of the funds raised will be invested into amplifying the voices of young people all across the UK.
Thanks to all of our amazing runners, our fantastic cheer team, and everyone who sponsored and supported along the way. We couldn’t do what we do without any of you!
If you would like to take part in a challenge event or would like to organise your own fundraising event, please get in touch with our Fundraising Intern, Olivia Attey, on olivia.attey@byc.org.uk
The British Youth Council’s 100k in a month Challenge is coming to an end. It began in February 2021 as a way to engage with our supporters in a fun but Covid-safe setting, and it has been immensely successful in its first year. All together, we raised over £3000 in this challenge, which is more than three-times our initial target! As a community, we grew, with partakers from across the UK and all over Europe participating, and sponsors from all over the world.
Thank you to all of you who participated, shared and donated to this challenge, as without your AMAZING support and effort, we never would have achieved such an accomplishment.
One of our participants Chris Attey, 58, decided to take part in this challenge along with 5 friends he’s known since school. They walked from Chepstow (Monmouthshire, Wales) to Carey (Herefordshire, England) following along the Wye river. They accomplished 80km in 2.5 days!
Chris shared this heart-warming message about his experience, “I often walk less than 3,000 steps in a day, so completing over 40,000 for two consecutive days, and then another 20,000 the next morning was a massive challenge. I almost gave up after day two, I ached so much, but seeing the donations still coming in gave me a massive boost and kept me going. The British Youth Council does such important work and raising money for them by doing this challenge has been a privilege. One of the most enjoyable and satisfying experiences I’ve ever had!”
If you are interested in partaking in another Challenge for the British Youth Council, or know someone who would be, we have exciting news for you – The British Youth Council has two more spots free in the Asics 10K London Run, which will take place on the 25th July, 2021. But hurry, the deadline is the 16th July, 2021.
If you missed out on doing the 100k this year, do not worry! We will be launching this challenge event again next year in February, so be sure to mark it in your calendars.
Policy plays a big role in our work here at the British Youth Council. It is driven directly from the manifestos of the UK Youth Parliament and the British Youth Council. These important documents, like all the work we do, are formed and reviewed by young people depicting what local and international issues matter most to them. The motions put forth in these documents also include the British Youth Council’s annual priority topics, which young people actively go on to campaign on, with one of our biggest campaigns being the Votes at 16 campaign. With the help of many other organisations, coalitions with the same aims, and government groups we are involved with such as All Party Parliamentary Groups, campaigns like this in particular have gone on to make real change in other parts of the UK.
Our policy work as helped young people interact and engage with various political stakeholders in a wide range of programmes. Some of these include the Covid-19 Task Force Enquiry, the DCMS Youth Review, and the Youth Voice Group, who have worked to pair young people with government departments such as the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Cabinet Office to consult on topics such as domestic abuse. They have helped us to create platforms and opportunities where young people can feel empowered to speak up on important matters that affect their lives, and make relevant changes.
Another programme led by young people is the Youth Select Committee. This has showcased the real importance of our policy work, having launched their report on knife crime in 2019, which the Government has acknowledged and responded to. Prior this report, young people facilitated various roundtables, consultations, and meetings forming crucial relationships with political leaders and community organisations also keen to dismantle the knife crime epidemic.
Finally, to shine light on the amazing international team and their tremendous engagement within international policy. The British Youth Council currently have two of our UK Young Ambassadors actively serving and representing on international boards; the Commonwealth Youth Council and The European Youth Parliament. Our international team help represent the young people in our community on international issues such as the environment and gender-based violence, having recently written a joint letter with the European Youth Forum to our Foreign Office calling for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention. In all, young people have shown tremendous commitment to making positive change in the world of policy.
If you care about our policy work which enables us to empower young people and provide them with a platform to speak up and be heard, please show your support with a small donation, or sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with our activities!