A word from our Head of Volunteering Carol Clarkson 

This Volunteers week, everyone at VANL would like to say a huge thank you to everyone across our communities that volunteers, helps out and gives a hand in their groups, community centres, hospitals, community gardens, drivers services and in so many other ways.  

This week is very important to us all at VANL. It is volunteers that feel driven to help, have the ideas, get charities started, and give the time, dedication and the heart that the voluntary and charity sector thrives on.  

This year we have chosen to focus on Youth Volunteers and all the energy and enthusiasm, ideas and unique perspectives they can bring to North Lanarkshire charities. Watch this space for some daily inspirational stories of young people in North Lanarkshire who have volunteered to volunteer for causes close to their hearts. 

New Youth Volunteering Guide!

We are also excited to announce our new hot off the press easy to use guide to taking on young volunteers. 

Our intrepid Volunteer Lead Roisin Connell has been out and about, chatting to young people at schools and colleges, finding out from young people themselves, just how much they want to volunteer and how hard it can be to find a volunteer placement. 

We have also been learning from you, the CVS organisations, about what the barriers are to taking on younger volunteers. Concerns about getting it right for the young person are rightly the top worry. We have also heard: 

‘ Will my insurance cover younger volunteers?’ 

‘ What safegaurding checks do I need to have in place?’ 

‘How do I go about getting PVG checks done?’ 

This simple, easy to manoeuvrer guide can take you through all this and more with an appendix full of templates, to get you started on your journey to taking on your first younger volunteer! 

Click this link to download and view the guide!

Meet Heather – North Lanarkshire’s new Saltire Youth Ambassador!  

This month we were so excited to welcome Heather on board to help us spread the word about the power of volunteering for young people. Heather will be working with us to:

✨ Champion volunteering opportunities for young people
✨ Raise awareness of the Saltire Awards
✨ Inspire other young people to get involved and make a difference in their communities

Check out Heather’s inspiring volunteer journey from age 7 when she tried to find a charity to volunteer with, but was told she was too young. From lockdown and making her own crafts to chair exercises for the elderly and onto many amazing adventures with You tube channels, awards opening award shows to TV appearances! 👉: https://buff.ly/2fYlQCL