A Practical Checklist for organisations involving young people as volunteers

Target more information about volunteering opportunities at young people to help them make better choices.

Use positive images of volunteering (and less stereotyping) to attract younger people to your organisation.

Make volunteer opportunities attractive and appealing to young people. Variety and the fun

Create clear, progressive and varying volunteer roles for young people. Flexibility of volunteering (time and commitment) is important to reflect the diverse range of things which may be happening in a young person's life.

Make sure volunteering provides benefits to young people in terms of skills, new challenges, work experience and so on.

Ensure that young people feel valued and respected by others they may be volunteer with or for.

Make your volunteers feel empowered and consult and involve them in the development of their volunteering.

Provide a friendly and relaxed environment for young people to work in, with support from an identified person when they need it.

Ensure recognition of what young volunteers do, either by providing accreditation in the form of a qualification or simply providing a reference or record of achievement, stating skills and experience gained while they were volunteering.

Make sure young volunteers are never out - of - pocket.

Follow good practice in management of volunteers in all instances e.g. volunteer policy, recruitment and selection, induction, training, support and supervision.

Be creative and consider if there are tasks within the organisation which individual young volunteers or a group would be able to undertake and run as their own project, with back-up support

Reprinted with permission of The Volunteer Development Agency