Celebrating Youth Volunteering
YOUNG people worked on cars, made videos, supported food and heritage projects and cared for the environment in volunteer roles across Thanet.
Kirsty Peterkin, Youth Volunteer Connector at Kent Coast Volunteering (KCV), supported 14-24 year olds to volunteer for Thanet charities and community groups.
The project saw young people at Pie Factory organising fundraising sleep outs and quizzes to save their youth centre – as well as singing carols for residents at charity Pilgrims Hospice – and a fundraising walk in honour of a friend who sadly committed suicide.
Kirsty McMahon from Pie Factory said: “These young people are showing their awareness of the community around them, empathy for the struggles that other young people are going through and a real drive to keep open access youth sessions available in Thanet. With the funding cuts last April and the current threat to their building, they are working hard to show that Ramsgate needs our youth centre – now more than ever.”
Other youth groups contributed to a Love to Volunteer Banner, which toured charities and community groups promoting volunteering.
Banner making at youth groups across the Isle including Quarterdeck Family Hub
Young people with special educational needs got involved in everything from gardening and litter picking to creative volunteering. 24-year-old O.Mariager, who is studying animation, helped create a promotional video for new SEND activity centre The Hive in Ramsgate.
Students at East Kent College offered free car checks to volunteers at their excellent garage facilities. Media students at the college volunteered to cover the event. Watch videos from Ciaran and Edmond. A massive thank you to everyone involved, including Jack and Chloe who took the footage.
Students also volunteered to talk about their volunteering experience on film to encourage other young people to volunteer. Watch Isaac and Channell talking about what they do. Thank you to Summer who volunteered to make the videos.
Young people from job centres in Margate and Ramsgate got involved. Successes included a taster volunteer session at social supermarket SE Kitchen in Ramsgate. Young people buddied by Kirsty toured the supermarket and found out how it worked. One of them is still a regular volunteer! One young person was able to use her love of fashion to take part in the Great British Carnival in Ramsgate.
Nina at the Great British Carnival Ramsgate
KCV’s Selena Muscat met Caitlin at a Creative Careers Fair for young people. Caitlin was able to use her love of history to help with the Clock Tower Museum (former Ramsgate Maritime Museum) archiving, taking photos and documenting the building.
Caitlin, 23, says: “Selena has helped to connect me with causes I care about and people who interest me, I’m incredibly thankful for that.”
Volunteer Connector Kirsty worked closely with Riya, a care leaver, who wants to be a police officer, and volunteers at Margate Independent Foodbank, is interested in SE Kitchen Cancer Smart Training and is currently applying to volunteer with a charity that works with offenders.
Policing student and Cliftonville care leaver Riya meeting the police, volunteering at Margate Independent Foodbank
Sports volunteering was popular with young people. Kirsty promoted and introduced young people to opportunities in Quarterdeck Family Hub, Dane Park and Ellington Park. She visited schools and youth groups across Thanet to raise awareness of opportunities provided by Sports Connect CIC, Thanet District Council’s Natasha Brown and Thanet Lionesses Basketball Club.
Volunteer taster session at SE Kitchen Ramsgate
Kyra volunteering on Happiness Day to take photographs
Other young people found paid work through volunteering and gained skills and experience for the workplace. Harmony works for Community Soup in Ramsgate, Irah got work at Dreamland, Issy works for Sports Connect CIC.
Kirsty visited schools across the isle, delivering talks on volunteering and signposting young people to opportunities – attending events such as school careers ‘speed dating’ events such as 30:30 at Hartsdown School.
The KCV Youth Project ran for 10 months and we aim to use the learning from this project to develop projects in future.
Kirsty, Our Youth Volunteer Connector, said: “I enjoyed working with KCV as a volunteer connector. We achieved so much in a short time. I was inspired by volunteers I met at Ellington Park and working with Changing Minds Kent to apply for the role. During my time, I got the chance to do Youth Mental Health First Aid Training.
“I believe volunteering is a great way for young people to learn new skills, develop positive habits, build confidence and overall boost their wellbeing – all things I learned are also important for young people’s mental health in the Changing Minds Kent training.”
Read more about Kirsty working with young people HERE
Kirsty is still an active volunteer at Friends of Ellington Park and still looking for helpers for the May Fayre on 18 May Ellington Park.org.uk / ellingtonpark101@gmail.com
Young Minds Day organised by Youth Volunteer Connector Kirsty Peterkin at Ellington Park
We would also like to say a big thank you to Wayne Beech of Porchlight, who volunteered for the project, listening to young people at ACT! and developing a youth programme we would like to take forward in future.
Pie Factory’s ACT! group doing a social action litter pick
Kent Coast Volunteering’s Youth Volunteering Project was backed by Thanet District Council’s Community Champions Programme with funding from The UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.
