During the time we spent here as a part of our Make A Difference (M.A.D) week we were tasked with understanding the third sector and how younger people can become more involved. It all began with Jenny. She outlined the plan for our week and was the base of our project, through Jenny we gained an understanding of OCVA’s unique position as an infrastructure charity and increasingly discovered there was something special about volunteering.
We met a plethora of different characters throughout a group of varying Oxfordshire charities and organisations, including people who truly make a difference in our country’s society. Beyond just ticking the box on our personal statement and university applications we realised that young people and their insight is a valuable resource that organisations, voluntary or not, could be taking advantage of.
Thoughts from the week:
Charlie – “by interacting with the individuals in the third sector I think that we kickstarted a conversation that could really lead to differences in the process of youth volunteering in years to come”
Ruby – “by conducting our research this week I feel like as a collective we have positively impacted youth volunteering and made a difference”
Oscar – “throughout the week, the worth youth can have couldn’t be clearer; it has taught me that wonderful stuff can happen if young people engage in wider society”
Highlights
Ruby: My highlight of the week was visiting the story museum and hearing how perfectly Connie has gone about making the museum a safe and friendly environment for young people to volunteer.
Charlie: My highlight was going to Oxford Brookes, it was really insightful to see a working University campus and how young volunteers can play a vital role into keeping them running as smoothly as possible.
Oscar: My highlight was meeting with the inspirational people from Aspire and My Vision as they demonstrate how the voluntary sector is innovating to solve the problems that the Government is still grappling over today.
