Alive & Kicking UK

Volunteering is a great way of helping others in your community and the wider world.  

Why volunteer?
People usually associate volunteering with just giving your time for free, but there are actually many ways that you can benefit as well!

1. By doing something new, you can learn new skills that can give you confidence to face challenges in other areas of your lives.
2. You can meet other people interested in the same campaign or cause as you are and stay in touch with them long after you have finished the project you are working on. Plus, you can meet people from a diverse range of backgrounds - people you may never come across in your daily life.
3. If you find an opportunity that matches your interests, you have a good chance of having fun and finding the work rewarding in exchange for your time.
4. It will look impressive on your university application and can improve your chances of getting that first job! Lots of employers prefer candidates that have volunteering experience.
5. Also, volunteering lets you try out different types of work - so you might find out what you are really interested in doing for your career!

How can I find out about opportunities?
If you want to do something in your local community check your community notice boards in the council or school offices for opportunities. Or you can come up with your own idea to change your local area for the better.

For wider volunteering opportunities in the UK and abroad and for some tips on how to contribute from home check out some of the links below:

• Giving Nation is a fantastic website run by the Citizenship Foundation. On their site you can find all sorts of tips on ways to get involved in local and national projects.

• Student Partnerships Worldwide (SPW) is an international development organisation - which runs volunteer programmes around the world as well as in the UK. It's not a volunteer holiday we can assure you!

• Dreams and Teams is run by the British Council and operates in over 40 countries worldwide. Here at Alive and Kicking we think it's a great initiative because it uses sport to develop international Young Leaders and establish partnerships between schools around the world. Check it out!

• Young Timebank inspires groups of young people in schools around the country, to identify issues they feel strongly about. Then Young Timebank offers you a choice of 5 different ways to tackle the issues. These include arranging an event, creating art for an exhibition, making a film, organising a campaign or producing a publication.

• Do-it.org.uk offers all kinds of advice on volunteering in your local community. It also enables you to find out where your local Volunteer Centre is.

• Volunteering England is an independent voluntary agency which gives lots of advice on how to start volunteering, as well as information on opportunities and local events.