A Youth Team volunteer would assist in the running of youth activities at the conference centre and out in the community.
Reporting to: Youth Projects Team Leader
Contract: Voluntary Position
Salary: Expenses will be provided
Youth Projects
We currently run 2 youth projects. 'Journeys' is a 2-year West Cumbria focused project funded by Children in Need and is accessible for young people aged 10–18 with learning difficulties and/or autism. The project will support young people with learning difficulties and/or autism, to transition through different phases of life. Young people face and embark on a range of transitions (referred to as journeys) as they travel through childhood and teenage years into adulthood. Types of journeys young people experience include: school to employment; pandemic to ‘normality’; through puberty to adulthood; and self-discovery. These transitions can be daunting and challenging.
The Next Steps project, supports and prepares young people to transition from lockdown back into everyday life through a range of interventions. Young people work to develop their IT/digital skills, confidence, resilience and independence. Through online workshops and activities, we support young people and their families to become tech savvy and confident to effectively use digital equipment to link in with online community networks and services preparing them for community-based activities. We support and prepare young people to step back into their local community. Through virtual and face to face interventions we support YPLD to feel safe in the community, build confidence and resilience and take those first steps. We support young people to develop an increased community footprint and enjoy wider engagement in their community than they did prior to Covid-19.
Role Profile
A youth team volunteer would assist in the running of youth activities at the conference centre and out in the community. This would include:
- Helping youth workers set up for activities, meeting and greeting the young people and helping them get settled in.
- During activities you would support youth workers in keeping the group together, doing regular check-ins with the young people, maintaining sufficient staff to student ratio. Having higher staff ratio provides more opportunities for 1:1 support and conversations which encourages help seeking.
- Have crucial conversations with the young people and provide support or guidance relevant to the aims mentioned above.
- You would also give pastoral support to the young people and listen to what they have to say.
- This volunteer would also seek opportunities to take photographs of the young people engaging in activities which can be used to measure progress and further advertise the youth projects on social media.
- As well as helping run activities, the volunteer would assist youth workers in tidying up afterwards and ensuring all young people are collected by their caregivers.
Person Specification
The ideal candidate will have a good knowledge of technology and how this can be used to support young people with learning difficulties and/or autism meet their full potential. The candidate will need to be lively and energetic; but calm, compassionate and empathetic when required. The ideal candidate will be patient and able to identify with and understand the needs of young people with learning difficulties and/or autism. Experience in working with groups of young people.
The volunteer role will be subject to DBS checks
Ongoing training and support will be provided