UK University Guides

Volunteering Website Launches for V-inspired Young People

 
The staff at Greenwich were very understanding and guided me in the right direction.  I started on the HND for my first year, really enjoyed it in terms of the topics I studied and the great friends that I met, so after my first year I joined  the degree program. Admittedly it was difficult, especially meeting coursework deadlines, but it was worth it. I had a great time, especially as I look back on it now.

www.vinspired.com – has been designed specifically for 16 to 25 year olds in England, and incorporates a host of social networking features and user-generated content to provide an unrivalled destination for young people interested in volunteering.
 
v is led by the cares, interests, passions and beliefs of young people and members of the v20 Youth Advisory Board have been involved with every stage of the design, development and implementation of the site.  v20 member Sarah Ford, who is the portal ‘Champion’ says: “I’ve loved being involved in creating the portal and I’m looking forward to seeing how the site develops as more and more people share their blogs, images and video clips.  It’s a great place to find out about volunteering experiences and I’m sure there will be many funny and unusual stories that show how exciting and diverse volunteering can be.  It’s fantastic that even in the test phase of the site we have attracted more than 2,000 young people to register, 66% of whom are new to volunteering".
 
Commenting on the launch, v’s Chief Executive Terry Ryall said: “The creation of a national volunteering portal to ensure that young people have ready access to information on volunteering opportunities was one of the key recommendations of the Russell Commission.  I’m delighted that by working closely with young people, YouthNet and others in the sector, we have been able to deliver a truly interactive, youth-focussed site that we believe will make a real difference for young people.”
 
v has worked in close partnership with online charity YouthNet to implement the portal's volunteering opportunity search, building upon the existing voluntary sector infrastructure.  v has funded a number of changes to the National Volunteering Database (NVD), V-Base and Online Poster System and the do-it.org.uk volunteering site, all of which are owned and managed by YouthNet.  The NVD provides the primary source of volunteering opportunities searchable by young people using vinspired.com. Enhanced features such as saved search preferences and automated alerts are being trialled to make finding the right opportunity even easier.

Lesley Bourne, Director of Partnerships at YouthNet, said: “YouthNet believes in working in partnership in order to develop complimentary services that play on the strengths of all involved.  We are delighted to be working strategically with v to share our knowledge of young people, volunteering and technology to support this exciting initiative.”
 
In addition to the vinspired website, young people can access volunteering information using a freephone number (0800 089 9000) and via SMS by texting v to 80010.  Additional functionality will be added to the site throughout 2007, with increased access planned via mobile devices, kiosks and interactive television.