Volunteering gives you the chance to make a difference to people’s lives and use your skills and experience to help your local community. You can use this opportunity to become involved in a project or with an organisation that you care about.
You will need to complete this activity for
Bronze - 3 months (13 hours) - Plus a further 3 months in either their service, skill or physical
Silver - 6 months (26 hours) - non Bronze Award holders must do an extra 6 months on their service, skill or physical
Gold - 12 months (52 hours) - non Silver Award holders must do an extra 6 months on their service, skill or physical
Below are some ideas which might help you decide what you want to do.
Animal welfare Environment
Rural conservation
Preserving waterways
Working at an animal rescue centre
Litter picking
Urban conservation
Beach and coastline
conservation
Zoo/farm/nature reserve work
Administration
Being a charity intern
Being a volunteer lifeguard
Event management
Fundraising
Mountain rescue
Religious education
Serving a faith community
Supporting a charity
Working in a charity shop
Dance leadership
DofE Leadership
Group leadership
Head student
Leading a voluntary organisation group
St John Ambulance
Sports leadership
Music tuition
Campaigning
Cyber safety
Council representation
Drug & alcohol education
Home accident prevention
Neighbourhood watch
Peer education
Personal safety
Promotion & PR
Road safety
Helping children
Helping children to read in libraries
Helping in medical services e.g. Hospitals
Helping older people
Helping people in need
Helping people with special needs
Tutoring
Young carer
Youth work
Once you have chosen your activity, write a SMART Goal for it.
Service SMART Goal Example:
My goal is to help the under-8's improve their hockey skills, including teamwork, skating and stick handling. I will volunteer as a junior coach 1 hour per week for the next 52 weeks with the Timbits minor hockey league. I will assist with practice set-up and take-down. I will work with the coach to assist with leading drills and will build towards independently coaching a small group of players, thus increasing my leadership and coaching abilities.