The inspiration of volunteering

THIS month we celebrate Student Volunteering Week. As many young people strive to get ahead in the world of work, I’d like to tell your readers how volunteering can be a great way to inspire development and provide an insight into your chosen career.

In recent years we’ve conducted research of our student volunteers and found evidence of some remarkable development in the young people that we welcome, both personally and professionally.

93% of students we asked said that their volunteering experience improved their self-confidence, with 95% saying it made them more tolerant towards others.

And, it’s clear that pledging time to charity can often inspire young people to increase their participation in wider society too. 79% said that their time as a volunteer inspired them to take a more active part in their communities.

I work for Revitalise, an incredible charity that provides respite holidays for disabled people and carers, at our Jubilee Lodge respite holiday centre in Chigwell, Essex.

We are also blessed with the largest residential volunteering programme of any UK charity, welcoming thousands of vibrant volunteers from around the world every year.

In many ways, our volunteers are our magic ingredient, helping to create the lively, social atmosphere that so many of our guests know and love.

For everything that our volunteers give, we aim to ensure that they gain just as much in return, and have plenty of inspirational opportunities waiting to be discovered.

To find out more about our charity or to become a Revitalise volunteer yourself visit: www.revitalise. org.uk or call our volunteer team: 0303 303 0163.

Stephanie Stone, Revitalise

www.revitalise.org.uk