Ballymena volunteers make an impact with launch of new awards

The newly revitalised and refreshed programme aims to encourage and reward even more young volunteers aged 25 and under and facilitate a pathway to achieving the coveted accolade of 200 Hours Award of Excellence.

Speaking about the new programme, local Youth Forum member Emma Greer from Cullybackey said: “After more than 20 years of Millennium Volunteers, the Youth Forum felt it was time to reinvigorate the programme and give it a new lease of life for the next generation of volunteers.

“For any young person out there keen to get into volunteering, the Volunteer Now Impact Awards will open up a whole world of opportunity, both in terms of personal development and for future careers or further study.

“Volunteer Now’s online volunteering platform is easy to use and allows young volunteers to build their profile and match up with a volunteer-involving organisation based on personal interests, so it’s a great way to discover what opportunities are out there for you.”

Denise Hayward, Chief Executive Officer of Volunteer Now, said: “Our youth volunteers make up a significant portion of our membership base and at least 350 member organisations involve young volunteers in some way, from young leaders or coaches to fundraisers, mentors, environmentalists, youth advocates, retail support and many more.

“The Volunteer Now Impact Awards remains the flagship programme in Northern Ireland to support young people in reaching their volunteering goals.

“We hope that this exciting new programme will encourage even more young people to consider volunteering and raise awareness of the benefits that being involved can bring, from enhancing future career and study prospects, to increasing confidence, learning leadership and communication skills and of course making new friends”, said Denise.

For more information or to get involved in volunteering, visit the website at www.volunteernow.co.uk