National Volunteer Week
VOLUNTEERING FOR ALL
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Volunteers’ Week is a chance to say thank you for the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK.
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It takes place 1-7 June every year and is an opportunity to celebrate volunteering in all its diversity.
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So this year we want to showcase volunteers from across North Lanarkshire, and why not because we have the best ones!
Bellshill Diamond NL Challenge Group
The journey to becoming a "NorthLander!"
Bellshill CLD's Diamond NL Challenge group have had a very busy year, the award is split up of four parts these are Skill, Physical, Volunteering and Adventure.
The group started by doing their physical by doing team games and team building activities, next they did their skill section which consisted of Thai Chi and relaxation therapy to ease the pressure of school life and also made an imovie.
The group also undertook part of the adventure section of the award by walking from Chatelerault to Strathclyde Park and were then rewarded with a trip after it to M&D's for a shot of the shows!
However for their volunteering section they will become "NorthLanders" for the 2018 European Sporting Championships, where they will be trained to assist in the delivery of this fantastic event!
In their role they will have stewarding duties to help make the events taking place in North Lanarkshire a memorable occasion for everyone, we cant wait to see what they get up to over the summer and we know they will smash it!
The coatbridge peer education group
The Coatbridge Peer Education Group since been established in 2012 has come on leaps and bounds. The group has delivered numerous sessions to young people across North Lanarkshire based on the No Knives Better Lives Campaign, this approach offers a fun, innovative and creative way to teach young people about the dangers of carrying a knife but whilst also getting down to a level where young people are at.
The group has recently moved onto further education but if you would like to get involved contact us now!
Police Scotland Youth Volunteers
Police Scotland Youth Volunteers based in Cumbernauld have been active and volunteering in our communities since June 2016.
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Our 24 youth volunteers who are between 13-17 years of age, have committed more than
3000 volunteering hours.
The group are more than happy to assist at a wide range of events. Many of our volunteers are trained to deliver peer education workshops within a variety of enviroments.
The group also participate in training nights where they can learn new skills for the future. Our volunteers have won a number of awards both at the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers National Awards and the Lanarkshire Police Division Annual Awards Ceremonies. The groups high standards and professionalism has lead to an increase in demand for the services they
offer.
Katy Cowan
Katy is 17yrs who has been involved in a variety of volunteering opportunities provided by Community Learning & Development.
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Katy started off as a young person who participated within her local youth group in the area of Stepps.
From this she became involved in volunteering for the Moodiesburn Gala Day, Pivot Summer Programmes and various other community events where she was awarded community participation certificates from North Lanarkshire Council and the community organisations.
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Also Katy has a placement with the Rainbows within the Moodiesburn area as part of her volunteering section within her Duke of Edinburgh Award (Bronze Level).
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Through participation in volunteering Katy has achieved her Dynamic Youth Award, Saltire Award, First Steps to Youth Work, and has now completed her PDA 2 in Youth Work and applied for a place at university.
LANDED Peer Education Service
Since 2002, LANDED Peer Educators have worked hard to spread harm reduction and educational messages about sexual health, tobacco, cannabis, drugs and alcohol throughout Lanarkshire. Over the years they have delivered hundreds of workshops to young people living in our local communities.
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They work very closely with LANDED staff to develop new activities, resources and workshops to make sure the information is relevant, interesting and fun!
Our current volunteers are a fabulous bunch of inspiring and innovative young people who are committed, passionate and resilient in the voluntary role that they take on with us.
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A massive thank you to all of our past and present volunteers on this volunteer week 2018. LANDED couldn’t work without your commitment! It is a privilege to work alongside you.
For more information on LANDED and what we do watch our promotional video here: https://youtu.be/KKqs3j54qKA
If you are interested in volunteering with us please get in touch.
Jamie lily
Jamie Lily has been known to Bellshill Community Learning and Development youth work team for a number of years. He was part of the under 12’s youth groups and has always been very active in taking part in various after school youth groups including the NL Challenge Group and the Youth Forum.
Last summer, 2017, Jamie put himself forward to volunteer at the summer school in Cardinal Newman High School. He completed the First Steps to Youth work course along with a number of other senior pupils from the Bellshill area and spent every day of the week long summer school volunteering. As a follow on from this Jamie was keen to continue to put his newly found skills to more practice and enquired about helping the Bellshill CLD Youthwork team over the summer. The staff invited Jamie along to the first day of the summer activities programme and he then spent the rest of the summer volunteering his time – not missing a day.
Jamie’s help was valued by every member of staff who found him a pleasure to work with. He helped the staff to organise games, he encouraged the young people to take part in activities and he was always there to help out with the menial tasks such as tidying and clearing up afterwards.
Jamie was a pleasure to have around during this time and we had very positive and encouraging feedback from all the staff who said that he had been a great support. He was able to pass all his skills and experiences that he had learned over the years on to other young people and when we asked the young people in the 8-12 age group what they liked most about coming along to the summer programme the majority of them said ‘Jamie’. He has great rapport with all young people that he works with and with the staff he has worked alongside. Many of the staff have been youth workers in the youth groups that Jamie has been part of and have commented on how much he has moved on in the past year. He is taking more responsibility for himself and for others, he is very enthusiastic and encourages the motivation of others, he shows respect for the people around him and he is a very reliable and considerate individual. As well as this he has a great sense of humour and was always fun to be around.
Jamie has developed the skills to be employed as a youth worker in the near future and his experiences, especially during the summer programme, have been great at building up his confidence and self-esteem so that hopefully he will very soon be able to achieve this.
Last year Jamie was nominated under the Francis McGeachie Award for Youth Achievement (Young people making a difference in their community) category for the North Lanarkshire CLD Partnership Celebration of Learning. He beat several other candidates in order to achieve this and very proudly attended the ceremony to receive his award.
Insane Dance
This group of girls volunteer once a week to provide free dance lessons in the Airdrie area, they have also held events to fundraise for local charities.
This group have progressed from strength to strength and been approached to perform at the 2018 Airdrie Fayre Day as well as other awards nights across North Lanarkshire.
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Shining Stars ASN Theatre School
The group are a volunteer-led project providing workshops in drama, musical theatre and dance for children with additional support needs. They will buy a mini-bus to allow them to take the young people out to perform at different venues and events across Scotland as well taking their Makaton Choir around care homes to perform to residents. We cant wait to see what the future holds for this amazing organisation.
Craigneuk & Petersburn Action For Kids
Craigneuk and Petersburn Action For Kids recently received The Volunteer Friendly Award a quality standard designed to support, recognise and reward groups who have demonstrated excellent practice in involving volunteers.
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The group run a volunteer led kid’s activity session for under 12s each Monday evening at Dunrobin Primary School from 6pm – 8pm with a range of fun sport and play activities.
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The group have recently been working in partnership with Airdrie’s Duke of Edinburgh Awards group to offer volunteer placements for young people who have interest in gaining experience and skills working with children.
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Over the past year 7 young people have started volunteering with the group and have taken one the roles of becoming a member of the committee.
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Debbie Spiers from CPAK highlighted that “Our group heavily relies on volunteers and working in partnership with the Duke of Edinburgh group has been a great success, Not only has it helped the young volunteers with employability skills but it also great to see young people give something back into the community”