Volunteering
Not just for your Gap Year
Volunteering is not just something to do in your gap year. Many people volunteer as part of their regular lives, or for special events.
Advantages can include:
- Work experience, qualifications, something to put on your CV
- Satisfaction from doing something useful
- Meeting people and socialising
- Doing something different to your normal job or study
- Having fun
If this sounds interesting, then there's good news for young people in Oxfordshire. There are organisations and websites which can help you find the perfect volunteering placement.
Even if you're not sure you want to volunteer, why not just check out the opportunities to see what's on offer?
Connexions Opportunity listings
Connexions Opportunity Listings are updated weekly. They include a listing for voluntary and personal development opportunities. You can see these opportunities online, or contact your local connexions centre for information about what's available in your area and advice about how to apply.
Key Link: Connexions Voluntary and Personal Development Opportunities
Help finding a volunteer placement
There are local organisations for young people in Oxfordshire which will help find you places where you can volunteer. They will ask you what you want to do, and tell you what placements are available. They may also be able to help with applications, etc.
- vinvolved Team Oxfordshire
Find placements for young volunteers, from long-term placements to one-off events. They also provide support and advice on youth volunteering. Join their Facebook Group to hear about all the latest opportunities! You can call the V Team on 01865 403 303 or email them at: vteam@ocvys.org. They are based at: The Old Music Hall, 106/108 Cowley Rd, Oxford, OX4 1JE. You can also search for volunteering placements on the vinvolved team Oxfordshire website.
- VOXinc
Specialises in supporting volunteers aged 16-25 who either have a learning disability or who want to volunteer for and with people who have a learning disability. More information and details on the VOXinc website.
Volunteer at your local Young People's Centre
Oxfordshire's Young People's centres are great places to get experience of working with young people. Many of the volunteers are young people themselves. Volunteers are needed for everything from manning the door to sitting on management committees, as well as for special events and to help run projects.
Look around locally
Lots of projects, clubs and charity shops need volunteers, and some advertise directly, e.g. outside community centres or on shop windows. You can also contact organisations directly, if you are interested in volunteering for them. Some places to look:
- Charity shop windows, other posters
- Noticeboards in your local area, at youth and community centres, schools or libraries
- Websites of local organisations
Tips on making applications
Remember that volunteering is a bit like a job. You will need to fill in an application form, have an interview, and compete against other candidates. Organisations like vinvolved and connexions can help you with this.
Key link: vinvolved Team Oxfordshire
Experience: Volunteering
Gosford Hill student Stuart Lavery, 18, coaches the Chipping Norton and Oxfordshire Under-15 rugby teams, runs the school sailing club and supervises activity trips for children. For the second year running he spent 5 months organising Kidlington’s “Commonwealth Games” in which about 200 children competed in athletics. Why does he volunteer? ‘I do it because I get a sense of achievement when they do something new thanks to my help,’ he says. Source - Oxford Mail, June 2003
Key links for Gap Year and Volunteering
