The Value of Volunteering | Page 11 | Youth Insearch

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Thu, 28/02/2019 - 11:09

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Volunteers

Aimee Caulfield, Youth Insearch Community Coordinator, Leader and volunteer talks about the value of volunteering, not just for the young people supported, but for volunteers themselves and communities...

Youth Insearch teaches young people and volunteers alike what it is to be in a supportive, open and positive community. Encouraging kindness, resilience and open-mindedness can change not only your life but the lives of others around you.

As a volunteer we are very fortunate to be able to witness the very moment that someone learns something that changes their life. That specific brief moment, if you are lucky enough to see it, is incredible. It could be anything, and for every young person it is different. 

It’s a unique privilege to guide young people grow and bloom, and through your guidance you witness a truly tangible change in their lives. The next time that you see them they could be completely different because of the positive impact your guidance has had, and the change you see is incredible.

Young people that attend the program always leave with tools, whether it be something they use when they get home or something that they use year later. 

It is through that experience that Youth Insearch shows young people how to be outstanding community members by giving them role models to encourage and empower them. Those young people then go back into their local communities and share that feeling. The impact that the young person has on their communities has many benefits, as it spreads throughout.

Being a part of Youth Insearch as a young person has given me the resources that I was lacking to save myself, to grow, to adapt, and to change so that I could have the opportunity to do the same for others. 

As a young person I did not see much of a future for myself, coming through the program allowed me to see a new and better path for my life. Without the program I would not have been able to celebrate my 13th birthday or to celebrate all the achievements that rebuilding my life has allowed me to be a part of.

The program continues to this very day to teach me to keep an open mind, open heart and to be open to new challenges. Every day I get to look at the world with fresh eyes, every young person gives me the opportunity to see the world from another perspective, and every day I am able to be the person that I wanted to be when I was younger. 

Youth Insearch is an incredible organisation that provides young people with the opportunity to change their own lives and to become outstanding role models within our communities. 

Find out how you can become a volunteer today.