You can find contact details for your local Youth Volunteering Adviser by clicking on our interactive map, click on Find Your Area and then select where you live. There’s also an email form on the website you can use to get in touch, click on Contact Us.
If you’re an organisation looking to find out more about how to involve young volunteers in your work you should contact your local Volunteering Development Manager, click on Information for Organisations for details
Contact us through our website, either download the registration form/monitoring form and send this back to us, or contact your local Youth Volunteering Adviser and they will arrange to meet with you.
We also run drop in sessions where you can pop in for an informal chat, meet some other young volunteers, and pick up leaflets, log sheets and even some lovely vinvolved freebies: your local Youth Volunteering Adviser will be able to tell you when and where they’ll next be in your community, or check on our website for current dates, times, and places.
You can also download our handbook for young volunteers here, and also a log sheet to start recording your hours; it’s absolutely fine to start recording your hours before registering for vinvolved, but you should make sure you do take the time to register properly otherwise you may not receive you certificates.
We are very proud of our Mission statement; you can read it here, or see it on the About Us pages.
We are committed to ensuring every young person has the opportunity to volunteer their time, energy, and skills to something they feel passionately about – whatever that might be!
We actively work to break down the barriers that may prevent some young people from feeling or being able to become a volunteer.
We recognise that young people from different backgrounds bring fresh ideas and skills to their volunteer placements. We value diversity, and we are committed to building a culture where people value each other and treat each other with dignity and respect.
We also work with organisations providing volunteering opportunities to ensure they share these values, provide safe and supportive volunteer placements, and help young volunteers grow and develop.
We welcome and work with ALL young people aged 16 -25 in Hertfordshire regardless of:
• Their gender
• Their race, colour, nationality, language or religion
• Their abilities or disabilities
• Their sexual orientation
• Their educational and/or academic achievements or status
• Their current employment status or history
• Their home or family situation
• Whether they have a criminal record
It is the responsibility of every individual - vinvolved staff, placement providers, and young volunteers – to challenge discrimination and bullying. All allegations will be treated seriously.
Any discrimination or bullying is totally unacceptable to vinvolved, and we will take firm action to protect victims and tackle the person(s) causing harm and distress.
To download a copy of this FAQ as a fact sheet, click here.
We ask for this information as it helps us make sure our work is reaching a wide range of young people: if we don’t ask, then we won’t know! You have the right not to fill in this form if you don’t want to, but any information you feel able to provide is extremely important to us.
Our monitoring forms are confidential. There is nothing on this form that can be traced back to an individual: no name or address is required. These forms are kept separately from any of your personal information and are only used to generate statistics about our work.
How details about you make a difference in our work
As a result of the statistics we’ve collected about young people since vinvolved began (2008), we noticed there are some groups of young people that have not really used our services; at the moment these groups are young offenders, Traveller and Roma Gypsy young people, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people. We’re doing lots of research and consultation work to try and find out why these young people aren’t using vinvolved; what we’ve discovered so far is that we need to do more to make sure volunteering is interesting and relevant to them, and safer and easier to access.
Finding new ways to get the message about volunteering out there, and creating new and innovative volunteering opportunities, can only make volunteering better for every young person – monitoring diversity makes everyone a winner!
We look at our statistics every three months to check how we’re doing, or if there are any other groups of young people we need to work harder to reach. If you have any ideas or suggestions that could help us in this work then we’d love to hear from you. You could also consider volunteering your time to help us with our research and consultation activities; please contact your local Youth Volunteering Adviser for a chat about this and find out more about how you could get involved.
vinvolved believes that anyone and everyone can volunteer – it’s just a question of trying to find the right opportunity, and offering additional support and encouragement when it’s needed. Often the biggest barrier to volunteering is confidence, and we can even help with that! See the FAQ on extra support for more details.
But what if I have a criminal record?
If you have a criminal record you can still volunteer. It’s really important that you tell us about any spent or unspent convictions; this information will be kept confidential and will help us work with you to find a suitable placement. Any volunteer that wants to work with children and/or young or vulnerable people will require a police check (also known as a CRB); some offences may prevent you from working with these groups, but they will not necessarily prevent you from getting involved in other kinds of volunteering.
We work very closely with organisations to encourage them to give all kinds of young people a chance and many are not at all worried or bothered about volunteers’ criminal records – some organisations even particularly welcome ex-offenders to their work!
For more information on confidentiality and data protection see the FAQ below.
vinvolved believe that confidentiality is really important and must be kept so that trust and respect can remain part of all relationships.
When you speak to, text or email one of the vinvolved Team then what you say will always be treated as confidential, any information that vinvolved has about you – for example, registration forms, log sheets, etc – are also confidential…although you can always ask to see them as you have the right to see any information that is about you.
The only exceptions to the above are times when keeping something confidential might mean you or someone else is put at risk, or might be hurt. If we have to break your confidentiality for any reason then we will always tell you first and give you any support you might need while the issue is sorted out.
What happens to any personal information I provide to vinvolved?
The information you give us on your registration form is entered on to the database held at the Volunteer Centre in your area; the paper copy of your registration form is then destroyed. The database in the Volunteer Centre is secure and can only be accessed by trained staff using a password; it also complies with all relevant data protection legislation.
We will never share your details with another organisation unless we feel you or someone else may be at risk; we may occasionally send you information about volunteering opportunities you might be interested in by email or text, and we will of course send your certificates to your home address if we aren’t able to see you in person. If you would prefer not to be contacted, or need your certificates sent somewhere other than your home address, then just let us know.
The monitoring forms you fill in with information about your race, gender, sexuality, etc are also confidential. There is nothing on this form that can be traced back to an individual: no name or address is required. These forms are kept separately from any of your personal information and are only used to generate statistics about vinvolved to help us check we’re working with a wide range of young people; for more information about this see the FAQ on monitoring.
Confidentiality during your volunteering
During your volunteering placement you could have access to sensitive and personal information. This may mean that you could be given valuable information that is essential to the organisation. It is important that you treat this information as confidential and that you do not disclose the information outside the organisation. If you are worried about any of the information you see while on placement then contact your local Youth Volunteering Adviser; you may also want to read the FAQ below about worries and complaints.
If you would like to see a full version of our policy on confidentiality and data protection please email Julia Collar, Head of Youth Development at JuliaCollar@WatfordYMCA.com
Hopefully your time spent as a volunteer will be a smooth, easy and enjoyable experience where the only challenges you face are the positive ones you’ve chosen to boost your personal development…however, unfortunately, we know things can sometimes go wrong and you might need some advice and support to sort things out.
Here’s what to do if you have a worry about your placement, or the service you receive from vinvolved; and also what to do if you need to make an official complaint.
Worries and concerns…about your volunteer placement
If you are unhappy for any reason in your volunteer placement then please get in touch with us as soon as possible, even if it’s just because you don’t feel the placement is the right one for you.
Some of the most common worries and concerns we deal with are:
• Not being sure what’s expected of you and feeling uncomfortable
• Being asked to do things you don’t have the training, skill or physical strength to do, or that you weren’t expecting to have to do
Less common worries, but some of the most important ones are often to do with safety:
• Being bullied, or being treated badly or inappropriately by other volunteers or staff at your placement
• Being asked to do things or work in ways you feel are unsafe
You have the right to feel safe all the time. You do not have to put up with stuff just because you’re a volunteer!
What we can do to help if you have a concern, worry, or feel unsafe…
• We can listen to you
• We can identify some solutions and help you put them into practice
• We can help you talk to your placement provider to get things sorted out, or we can talk to your placement provider on your behalf
• We can help you build your confidence and skills through training opportunities
• We can help you find a different volunteer placement if the issues can’t be resolved.
You can get in contact with us by phone, text, or email and we will do our best to respond as quickly as possible.
When you speak to/text/email one of the vinvolved Team about a worry or concern then what you say will be treated as confidential. The only exceptions to this are times when keeping something confidential might mean you or someone else is put at risk, or might be hurt. If we have to break your confidentiality for any reason then we will always tell you first and give you any support you might need while your concern or worry is sorted out.
Worries and concerns…about vinvolved
The vinvolved Team are here to make sure you
• Can access the volunteering opportunities you want to do
• Have fun and make new friends
• Learn new skills
• Get the support and training you need to get the most out of your placements
• Feel safe at all times
• Are treated with respect and understanding
Sometimes you might feel we’re not doing as well as we could do, or you might be confused or worried about some of our decisions. If you feel like this then we really need you to tell us about it so we can sort things out as quickly as possible.
When you speak to/text/email one of the vinvolved Team about a worry or concern then what you say will be treated as confidential. The only exceptions to this are times when keeping something confidential might mean you or someone else is put at risk, or might be hurt. If we have to break your confidentiality for any reason then we will always tell you first and give you any support you might need while your concern or worry is sorted out.
You can tell us about your worries and concerns by talking to your local Youth Volunteering Adviser:
• You can contact your Adviser by phone, email or text and chat things through with them
• You can text your Adviser and ask them to call you back
• You can phone, email or text your adviser and ask for a face-to-face meeting in a venue of your choice; coffee shops are popular
If your worry is about your local Youth Volunteering Adviser then you can ring, text, or email another member of the Team and talk to them instead – we’re a very friendly bunch and very easy to talk to!
If you are not happy about the way vinvolved has handled your worry or concern then you can make a formal complaint. You will need to put your complaint in writing and send it or email it to:
Julia Collar, Head of Youth Development
Watford & District YMCA
Charter House, Charter Place
Watford
WD17 2RT
JuliaCollar@WatfordYMCA.com
To download a copy of this FAQ as a fact sheet, click here.
Sometimes you might need help and support to get involved in volunteering. This can be for many reasons, including:
• You don’t feel confident enough
• You find it difficult to talk to people and make new friends
• You might not know how to use public transport to get to your placement
If you have a disability or health condition it might be you need help not only to start volunteering, but to keep the habit up, too. Here’s how vinvolved can help you.
Confidence and Communication
Volunteering can be a great way to boost your confidence and learn new ways to communicate, however it can feel really quite scary going somewhere you’ve never been before and meeting new people – how do you know what’s expected of you?
Don’t worry! You’re not alone. Lots of people feel like this. And it’s totally okay. Here’s how we’ll help:
• We run short courses to help you learn some tricks and tips to increase your confidence, and also to brush up on your social skills
• We will make sure you have enough information before you start at a volunteering opportunity so you know what’s expected of you
• We can help you to arrange a visit to an organisation to see what it’s all about before you decide you want to volunteer there
Transport
Most volunteers get to their placements under their own steam – walking, cycling, or by public transport. If you’re not sure how to get to your placement then here’s how we can help:
• We will help you find a volunteer placement that you can get to easily and cheaply; vinvolved can’t usually provide transport or pay for your travel costs unfortunately.
• We can help you plan your route to and from your placement using public transport
• Some young people don’t know how to use public transport – FACT! We can help you learn how to get around, and help you overcome any worries you might have.
If you are a full time volunteer, and you live or your placement is in a rural community, then the Scoots scheme might be a good option; Scoots provides electric scooters for young people living or working in rural communities. Please contact your local Youth Volunteering Adviser for more details.
Support during your placement
Here’s what we can do if you need support during your placement:
• When we set your placement up we will work with you and the provider to make sure that they can help you as much as they can; providers should always give you a full induction too.
• We can go with you and keep you company when you first start at a placement until you feel ready to go it alone: this can vary from ten minutes to a whole day depending on what you need.
• We will check in with you while you’re on placement to see how you’re getting on; we’ll also ask your provider how they feel things are going, too
• If you’re unhappy or worried in your placement then we will listen to you and help you sort things out – see our FAQ about worries and complaints for more information
• We can try and find you a ‘buddy’ who can support you; this could be another young volunteer, or an adult volunteer. It can sometimes take a long time to find a buddy, and sometimes we can’t find one at all.
If we can’t find a buddy for you, we will talk the people in your support network – parents, teachers, social workers, support workers – to see if we can work together on a solution.
If we can’t get you the support you need then we might need to think about some different placement options, or we’ll invite you to get involved in some of the short term projects we run and/or some of the youth-led projects we support – between us all we’re sure to be able to find lots of ways to get you stuck into volunteering!
To download a copy of this FAQ as a fact sheet, click here.
Please contact your local Youth Volunteering Adviser for a chat – a lot depends on how far back your voluntary hours go.
vinvolved can’t give you UCAS points, but vinvolved is nationally recognised by all UK universities. University places are highly competitive and voluntary work can give you that edge over others that haven’t volunteered before.
vinvolved Hertfordshire is an Access Organisation for DofE. We work in partnership and, if requested, we will give a certificate of prior learning from DofE, for 50 hours of volunteering, which qualifies for the volunteering (previously community service) section of the Bronze DofE Award.
We have hundreds of opportunities to suit your passions and the list is growing all the time. You can see all our opportunities online by visiting www.vinspired.com You can also find out about our latest projects and opportunities by visiting our news pages – check back regularly for updates!
We also work very closely with the Volunteer Centres in Hertfordshire, and you can always pop in to your local branch to find out what the latest opportunities are. To find your nearest Volunteer Centre visit www.volunteeringherts.org
Some types of volunteering can be quite tricky to find either because there aren’t many places available, or because organisations aren’t willing to take on young volunteers. We do lots of stuff to try and encourage organisations to take on young volunteers and increase the places they have available…but organisations can get full up and, usually for health and safety reason, they can’t take on anyone else until someone leaves.
When this happens you have a couple of choices: you can either wait to see if a place comes up, or you could think about a different volunteering option. If you decide to hang on for a place, you could consider taking on a temporary volunteer placement or join in with a taster day while you’re waiting! You never know, you might discover a hidden passion or talent in the process! Get in touch with your local Youth Volunteering Adviser to explore some options.
If there’s absolutely nothing on our database that catches your eye then let us know. We can have a go at encouraging some of the organisations in our network to create a volunteering opportunity especially for you, although this is not always possible; organisations can be very busy and do not always have a lot of resources they can put into new forms of volunteering. You could also consider using your skills and our support to set up a volunteer project of your own! See the section of our website about youth-led action for more information and inspiration.
Every organisation is unique, but we at vinvolved Hertfordshire will try and get back to you within a week.
This is fixed by v, the charity championing youth volunteering, who fund our team. The programme was created following a government paper called the Russell Commission, which aims to inspire a million young people to get into volunteering by 2011!
This can sometimes be down to insurance restrictions, the essential experience required or how demanding or draining the voluntary placement can be. We try to encourage organisations to lower their age limits, or if this isn’t possible to create other suitable voluntary placements within their organisation.
Unfortunately work experience isn’t included as voluntary work under our guidelines but we do believe that voluntary work gives you valuable experience and work based skills.
Please contact your local Youth Volunteering Adviser for a chat and have a look at the section of our website about youth-led action.
For more information on the training courses we offer in association with Pro Action, click here; Pro Action offer everything from First Aid, to Basic Food Hygiene, to Child Protection, and even sports leadership qualifications! Their training is free and they will often cover transport costs as well.
If you can’t find the type of training you need then contact your local Youth Volunteering Adviser and we’ll see what we can do to help.
We have recently completed Reach (March 2010), which is the national quality standard for youth volunteering and youth-led action. This involves a comprehensive review of all our policies, procedures, and methods in the following areas:
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The process took 9 months to complete and our practice has now been rated 'Outstanding'. We evaluate every piece of work we do ensuring that young people and the community have plenty of opportunities to give their views and feedback not only on the results of projects but on the process and on our staff. Our staff team receive regular supervision and attend lots of training events to develop their skills and knowledge.To find out more about Reach visit Youth Action Network.
