Volunteer work for under 16s?

MoradoJess

I think that this is in the right place but if not please move it

I would love to do some volunteer work and as of June 22nd (aka end of exams :T) I have plenty of spare time. However I don't turn 16 until the end of July. I've been searching on the net for places that would accept me but so far all the places I've found only take on 16 and over (I assume this is linked to insurance etc ). So, anyway, I thought you lovely people would know of some places.

I live in South Wales, but would appreciate any ideas regarding types of places to look. Ideally I would like to volunteer with animals but I undestand that this would be awkward as there is always a risk of bites etc so I'm willing to look into any type. Also just to let you know, I'm not being naive with the animal thing, I understand it's not just cuddling fluffy bunnies :rotfl:. For my work experience I spent a week in a council run dogs home (I was not allowed in the pens and only handled the puppies) and while parts of it were upsetting I can see how rewarding it could be.

Thanks for reading and I hope you can help

fengirl_2

Go to www.do-it.org.uk or visit your local Volunteer Centre. There may also be a v-involved project in your area.

foreign_correspondent

Hi Jess,

It's great that you want to do voluntary work! I am sure there are many places where you could make a difference and gain some valuable experience!

The link above posted by fengirl is a useful one check it out!

here are a few more links:

CSV Wales are definitely worth emailing as they will have a god overview of what's available:
http://www.csv.org.uk/Wales/

rspb take young (under 16) volunteers: http://www.rspb.org.uk/volunteering/questions/who.asp#tcm:9-131166

so do these guys but they are in north wales - still may be worth emailing them as they may well know of similar projects in your area

http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/northwales/volunteering.html

Good luck, I am sure you will find something, (although sometimes it takes quite a bit of perseverance to find the right thing!) and I am sure some organisation will be very glad of your help!

Best wishes

fc x

vikki_louise

hello, we are always looking for help with Post Pals www.postpals.co.uk whether its spending time spreading the word online, I could do with someone contacting summer clubs around the time you have finished exams, or sending cards and letters to the seriously ill children (its always nice from them to hear from anyone, but especially people around their own age), the youngest volunteer is a toddler who draws pictures and the oldest is 106!

Savvy_Sue

Any community farms in your area? I know one lad who was helping at one from younger than 16, and I presume it was all insured etc.

Also it may not be just insurance: we have done work experience for a few 15 year olds but there are quite tight limitations on what people can do for us without a CRB check, and you can't usually get one of those pre-16, AFAIK.

Hope you find something good!

NumboJumbo

You could think about volunteering your time from your own home on so many different projects, including animals. This website http://www.helpfromhome.org/ has many suggestions.

BTW, I live in Cardiff and I've found the following website pretty useful for volunteering opportunities. It actually covers all of Wales but you can narrow your search down to where you live, so hopefully it will be useful to you. http://www.volunteering-wales.net/index.html

Hope that helps.

QuirkyChemistry

When I was doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award (from age 14), I helped out in a charity shop. I wasn't allowed on the shop floor but did stuff in the back room. Not very exciting but it all helps. I know it's not directly animal related either but working in a PDSA/RSPCA shop could be better than nothing.

geordie_lass_2

My DD did a school work placement at a local vets surgery and now goes in once a week on a voluntary basis to help out. They are grateful for the help especially on busy days.
She cleans the cages, washes blankets, towels, washes and sterilises instruments etc.
If you have a vets nearby then it's worth offering your time.

She is 16, not sure if it makes a difference or not.

flutterbyuk25

Where abouts in S Wales are you?

I know the RSPCA place in Penllagaer Swansea needs dog-walkers. I'm not sure of the age they require though, but years ago I used to help them when I was under 16.

Other than that, i would write a letter to everywhere you can think of (vets, kennels etc) offering your services.

Good luck

x

Pound

fengirl wrote: »

Go to www.do-it.org.uk or visit your local Volunteer Centre. There may also be a v-involved project in your area.

I had a look at that site before but it seems so poorly designed that it's practicaly unusuable. For example if I do a search for jobs in the IT category, the first page has a handful of jobs from the last couple of weeks but a lot of them are from February, Januray, November an some even from 2007. Surely these vacancies have been filled by now?

Now, if I don't find anything I like or the jobs I see have been taken I might like to check back in a week to see if anything new has come up. Only, their search only lets me search by proximity, not by date. So if I want to check each week for new vacancies I would need to manually look through all 700+ results and check the date of each one.

andreajane

I know this thread is a bit old, but just to add in to the mix regarding the do-it website:

The Do-it.org.uk site doesn't quite work like a job vacancy site, as the volunteering roles can stay the same for years in some cases - it means that the organisation recruits volunteers for that role on an ongoing basis, and there's not just one vacancy for each role.

The date on each listing is just when it was last updated by the agency that posted it to the site. If the role hasn't changed for 5 years, it might not have needed to be updated - it doesn't mean that the role is out of date. I work in a Volunteer Centre, and we post to that site - you're right though that the date is misleading. I'll feed that back to Do-it.