West Lothian Courier

Student volunteer appeal

- Stephanie Stone, Revitalise.

This month we celebrate Student Volunteeri­ng Week.

As many young people strive to get ahead in the world of work, I would 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.

Ninety-three per cent of students we asked said that their volunteeri­ng experience improved their selfconfid­ence, with 95 per cent 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.

Seventy-nine per cent 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 from all across the UK.

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 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 on 0303 303 0163.

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