a portrait of us

Surrey vinvolved is part of the national youth volunteering initiative which was originally conceived by the Russell Commission on Youth Action and Engagement and outlined in its Report dated 16 March, 2005.

Funded with £75 million of government money, the national charity “V” was set up in 2006 to administer the initiative on a national level, and in 2008 teams and projects around the country were selected and funded to engage young people between the ages of 16 and 25, and encourage them to take part in volunteering and community action. Over three years, the scheme aims to encourage up to 500,000 young people across England to help out in and lead their own volunteering projects.

Here in Surrey, Redhill and Reigate YMCA successfully bid for the contract to deliver the vinvolved project. Since April 2008 it has been operating from offices in Redhill, Guildford and Woking YMCAs, working with young people and voluntary organisations to create a dynamic youth volunteering culture across the county.

Surrey vinvolved’s objective is to increase the quantity, quality and diversity of volunteering for young people between the ages of 16 & 25. Unlike its predecessor, Millennium Volunteers which delivered its own volunteering projects, vinvolved works with existing charities and projects across all sectors to help them create new volunteering opportunities for young people through support, networking, training, capacity building and the sharing of good practice.

In its first eighteen months of operation, in partnership with Surrey’s Volunteer Centre Network, Surrey vinvolved has helped to create and identify over 4,000 youth-friendly volunteering opportunities across the county, working closely with over 180 organisations to help them create these.

During the same period, vinvolved volunteers were placed into 1,750 volunteering roles, 871 of which were filled by young people for whom this was their first ever volunteering experience.

In order to help organisations create exciting, youth friendly volunteering opportunities, Surrey Vinvolved has delivered three one day training workshops entitled “Engaging Youth Volunteers” to support them with this. Further workshops on ‘Planning a Project for Youth Volunteers’ will take place in November 2009.

Surrey vinvolved advertises and promotes these exciting volunteering opportunities to young people through such means like do-it.org, Facebook, marketing material, college or uni events, or direct through organisations, all the while encouraging them to volunteer and offering support.

V is about accrediting and awarding young people for their volunteering. The vinspired awards are recognition of young people’s efforts, as well as giving them the chance to reflect on the skills they’ve gained from volunteering. The two main awards are the vfifty (50 hrs) and the vimpact (100 hours).

There is an emphasis on youth-led action through the development and facilitation of Youth Action Teams and by encouraging organisations to work with young people to create and deliver ‘youth-led’ voluntary and community projects. An example of this was a group of young volunteers deciding they wanted to support the elderly in Redhill. With the support of Surrey vinvolved, the young people applied for funding from a local councillor, then partnered with Age Concern to help deliver a series of mobility workshops, a craft day and a day trip to Eastbourne for the Redhill branch’s elderly members.

The team of eight staff have been actively promoting youth volunteering in schools and colleges across the county, and in addition accrediting students in Royal Holloway University of London and University of Surrey. Volunteering also works with less privileged young people including those living in hostel accommodation and those who are categorised as NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training).

If you work for an organisation that is looking to engage youth volunteers, or if you know any young people who would benefit from volunteering, please contact Surrey vinvolved: