What is VALUES Youth?

The VALUES Youth project is an exciting initiative that makes it easy for young people, aged 15-25 who have a learning disability to volunteer. VALUES Youth aims to enable young people to be actively involved in community life through volunteering. The project is about improving quality of life and valuing the contributions that young people can and do make to our communities. The focus is on building self confidence and development through positive experiences- in a fun and stimulating way!

This three year project has come about after funding we have attracted from the BBC Children in Need appeal and V.involved.

• How does it work?

The project:

• Provides placements for young people to undertake volunteering within mainstream not-for-profit organisations
• Supports volunteers to learn their volunteering roles and for some, become independent in their placements
• Supports volunteers to travel independently to and from their volunteering
• Facilitates workshops for young people with learning disabilities to increase their understanding of volunteering
• Organises group volunteering sessions for classes and groups where volunteering forms part of their curriculum or set activities
• Organises fun community challenges to encourage young people to be active citizens such as one-off challenges or sponsorship events.
• Who can volunteer with VALUES Youth?

A young person eligible to become a VALUES Youth volunteer must be aged between 15-25 and have a self-defined learning disability. As the project is run primarily within Leicester City all volunteers must either live in or attend schools or colleges within Leicester and volunteering will usually take place within the city. The project also provides a chance for ‘Buddy volunteers' to get involved and support some of the young people during their volunteering.

What type of voluntary work is available?

There are a variety of opportunities for volunteering with this project, including:

• Work with animals
• Helping to keep the lakes and environment clean
• Garden work
• Helping out in a charity shop
• Work in an office
• Painting and decorating
• Want to find out more?