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By VJonny 27th August 10
To celebrate the official launch of our vinspired National Awards 2010, the lovely Gabriella Cilmi treated some of last year’s winners to an intimate live performance and musical masterclass. The singer was inspired to give something back to the volunteers after hearing their stories when she sang at last year’s awards ceremony.2009’s Inspire Award winner Rich Simmons, who’d been on BBC Breakfast that morning talking about his award, took the opportunity to present Gabriella Cilmi with a portrait of her, painted especially for the occasion.
More proof, then, that winning a vinspired National Award is a pretty amazing… so well worth badgering your friends, family and other random folk to nominate you for this year’s awards. You could get the chance to take to the stage with the stars at this year’s ceremony.
We need as many people as possible to nominate volunteers who they think deserve recognition… and that’s where you come in! We’ve got some fabulous prizes up for grabs for people who can come up with the most imaginative and wacky ways to drive nominations; whether that involves dressing up in as a chicken, singing or wearing a wig – the wackier the better! All you have to do is send a photo of yourself generating nominations in your crazy way to nominationscomp@vinspired.com. We’ll be picking the top 10 pics and sending them an amazing lucky dip prize which could be anything from an MP3 player to a radio.
Stay tuned for exclusive footage of the masterclass, out next week.
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By vAdam 16th August 10
Jo Whiley with Make a Difference staff
Thanks to a £500,000 v match funded investment from the SITA Trust, local community interest company, Make a Difference has transformed a former bus station into a buzzing ultra modern youth and community hub.
Called ‘The Buszy’, this exciting regeneration project has given a much needed new lease of life to the space and created a venue that will be the envy of other cities.
Officially opened by Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley and young volunteers, the launch saw hundreds of young people from Milton Keynes taking part in a skate jam, street dance battle, DJ, film and grafitti and ‘trashion’ sessions.
The Buszy, which is already world-renowned for its skate park, now hosts a new state-of-the-art performance and gig venue, dance studio, recording and rehearsal studio, Milton Keynes’ first independent boutique cinema, urban garden and café. Make a Difference have also made some improvements to the skate park all of which have been designed through consultation with young volunteers from across Milton Keynes. The Buszy will be available for community use and also act as a base for the extraordinary young volunteers who have driven this project.
Street dance at the launch of the Buszy
The SITA Trust & v are delighted that the Buszy is regenerating an area of central Milton Keynes, turning a disused bus station into a vibrant and thriving focal point on the gateway to the city’s centre. The social action involved in the project will strengthen the role of young people in the area and promote social enterprise as sustainable and ethical way to do business. v is also working with many other private sector organisations, including Nike, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and ITV on Match Fund projects.
Danny Quinn, Arts & Culture Manager for Make a Difference said, ‘This is by far one of the most exciting things to happen to our city. Over the years we have engaged with thousands of young people in positive activities and regenerating the Bus Station into this exciting new venue is a fantastic opportunity for everyone. There is nothing else like it in the country. We are ecstatic to have secured this funding and look forward to sharing the space with the community of Milton Keynes.’
For more information on The Buszy and the activities taking place.
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v's Crunch Time? event
Having raised over £100m with the private sector in the last four years to support young volunteers, v brought together it’s private and voluntary sector partners for an unique evening to celebrate their work as part of the v Match Fund. The fund can match pound for pound the investment in youth volunteering from private companies, trusts and foundations, and individuals, doubling the impact of their philanthropy.
Hosted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Crunch Time? was introduced by Miles Templeman, Director-General of the Institute of Directors and Terry Ryall, v’s Chief Executive. In her opening remarks Terry stressed the importance of helping young people stay connected to society to develop the leadership and employability skills they will need in their future, she remarked that, as we enter the next decade, young people are in a precarious position – economically, environmentally and politically.
Global and Catch 22's You Have a Choice project
Joined by corporate partners Nike, ITV, BP, Coca-Cola, npower, Global Radio and many others, the event showcased the flagship programmes and the powerful partnerships v has forged between government, business and charities. But most importantly, the evening gave young people the opportunity to share with others the impact of their projects both on themselves and their communities.
v has an impressive record of working with business to channel their CSR budgets into projects that chime with the company values and at same time, creating unique opportunities for 16─25 year olds to tackle the issues that matter most to them and their communities.
If you would like a copy of a short film all about the match fund or would like to know more, please contact Nigel Mansfield on 0207 960 7029.
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In just four months vschools had established a universal volunteering and social action initiative for every State secondary school in England. Feedback from schools and local government was universally positive and welcoming. v was extremely disappointed and concerned therefore by the Department for Education’s decision to close the Youth Community Action programme, including vschools.
v understands of course that these savings are part of the Government’s wider spending cuts, but for years political parties, the voluntary sector, teachers, the public and young people themselves have been calling for all schools to get involved in social action, so it appears the government are missing a fantastic opportunity to embed a commitment to social action at an early, formative age.
Commenting on the decision v’s Chief Executive, Terry Ryall, said, “Cutting the programme at this stage is a false economy when the start-up investment has already been made. Any actual savings to the public purse will be minimal, indeed potentially non existent when set against the return on the investment that could have been achieved by letting the programme run as planned”.
Proto-type of vschools website
As v’s Digital Manager explains, a great loss from the programme is the new vschools site which had already been tested with pupils and schools, and hundreds of schools were ready to sign up. The site would have provided a safe, secure and engaging volunteering platform for 14-16 year olds in every maintained school in England.
A number of commentators have discussed the cuts including the Independent on Sunday, Polly Toynbee in The Guardian, Professor David Blanchflower in the New Statesman and Children and Young People Now magazine, who have recently launched a campaign, ‘For Youth’s Sake’ which seeks to highlight how young people’s services and projects cannot be lost without consequences.
In separate news the Office of Civil Society has asked v, as one of its strategic partners, to make a 5% saving in this current year and has capped the Match Fund at £10m rather than £15m. v will still be able to meet all existing Match Fund commitments and is considering how to make the required savings while preserving all the impressive work already under-way up and down the country and to protect opportunities for young people to get involved in volunteering and social action in their communities. v will continue to press during the Spending Review 2010 for public money to invest in young people and their futures.
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By Mo v20 19th July 10
Hey there, Mo here again. You may remember my previous blog post (about meeting MPs at the NCVYS event in Parliament). Well, Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan, kindly offered me to shadow her in Parliament for a day and boy, did I have an amazing time. I thought I’d share my experience with you all.
Having an interest in politics, it was a great insight of how an MP spends their day in Parliament and I would strongly reccommend you contacting your local MP and asking about any opportunites they may have on offer.
On Tuesday, I found myself looking lost in a huge building full of MPs, their staff and visiting school children. After spotting Lisa in the crowd, she took me on a guided tour of Members’ offices and a tour of the Houses of Parliaments, where David Miliband stormed past me, which was pretty neat.
I attended a meeting between Lisa and campaigners from Campaign to Protect Rural England which was interesting (ok, maybe not!) – but it was insightful. After that, I had lunch in the canteen and got a bottle of wate
r with House of Commons branding to show off to my family and friends. I then found myself opening letters and other office tasks. Shortly after, I managed to get into to watch Treasury Questions in the House of Commons in the Special Gallery which was amazing, to see a real-life Parliamentry Question Time debate, that we often see on the TV.What stood out, however, was spotting various MPs that I recognised such as Keith Vaz, Andy Burnham, Andrew Lansley (Health Secretary), Sadiq Khan and Yvette Cooper, who were metres away from me. I felt as if I was one of the politicians and part of the inner circle.
I then went with Lisa to mingle in the reception of the Stroke Association, which was packed to the brim!
When the day was nearly over, I was on the escalators heading up, out when the corner of my eye caught eye to a man walking down and that man turned out to be the big man, Gordon Brown himself! I was shocked and instantly threw my hand across the other side of the escalator to get a handshake and he shook my hand!! He asked me how I was but I didn’t respond because I was kindof speechless because it was a rare appearance as he is mainly in Scotland, writing his book! I had to let go of his hand otherwise he would have had a nasty bump at the bottom – ouch!It was a hectic day but I urge you, if you have an interest in politics or in any other field, get practical work because work experience is priceless.
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By vHannahM 9th July 10
Volunteering is a key strand of the Government’s vision for achieving a ‘Big Society’, where people are working together to take action on local issues. However, with the squeeze on public spending, demonstrating impact of programmes, initiatives and organisations is also the conversation of the day within the third sector. The New Economics Foundation (NEF) recently released Ten Big Questions about the Big Society (2010) offering questions and proposals to implement the ‘Big Society’ vision. It’s great to see this report highlight the need to ‘measure what matters’, that it is not just counting short term financial effects, but the wider and long term impacts upon individuals and communities.Looking at the measures used to capture the value of volunteering, we tend to focus on measuring the immediate or short term outcomes. These are largely self-reported and often captured through methods such as surveys, exit interviews or discussions with volunteering placement. But volunteering can also have a number of long term and profound outcomes upon young people, for example, increasing young people’s employability. These outcomes are often not identifiable immediately. In the UK there is very little evidence about the long term impacts of volunteering, and it could be argued that this is one of the biggest challenges facing the volunteering sector in the UK. Indeed the US are further advanced in this area of volunteering research, undertaking a longitudinal study of service in Americorps by tracking 2,000 volunteers over a three year period; a great example of a long term evaluation initiative.
Research in the UK has made good progress in beginning to document the long term outcomes of volunteering. For example, Raleigh International research with the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) Rallying Together (2009) demonstrates the long term impact of its international programmes on volunteer’s personal development, global citizenship, and civic participation through a series of surveys and interviews with programme participants between 1989 – 2006. This research provides excellent cross-sectional data, capturing participant’s feedback at one point in time, but it is unable to capture the change and impact of change upon individuals. Longitudinal research into the impact of youth volunteering offers the ability to examine the impacts of volunteering over time and assess how volunteering brings about changes in the individual and wider society. Thus longitudinal research could provide an essential measure of the long term wider added social value and outcomes of volunteering.
To better understand how to measure the long term value of youth volunteering v is working in partnership with the Institute of Volunteering Research (IVR), National Centre for Social Research, and Birkbeck University to undertake a scoping study to identify the possible approaches to monitor the long term impact of volunteering. The research aims to propose a methodology that is methodologically and ethically sound, complements existing studies and financially viable. Drawing upon a review of literatures, interviews with those that have been involved with similar studies in the UK and internationally and deliberative workshops with stakeholders including the youth sector, policy makers and young people.
This week we’ve just finished the deliberative workshops with stakeholders. These were well attended by CEO’s from leading youth sector organisations, senior policy advisors, research specialists and young volunteers. The in-depth discussions in the workshops illustrate the complexities of developing a longitudinal research methodology, particularly around the scope of outcomes one study can effectively capture and the feasibility of such research within the current financial environment.
The consortium meets next week to consider the all the data we’ve collected from the initial stages of the research. They’ll be some challenging issues to discuss around the focus, methodology and to how we take the research recommendations forward. In early autumn we’ll be publishing a report with detailed recommendations on approach, method and budget. We’ve no doubt that one of the biggest challenges will be to secure financial support for a future longitudinal research project.
However as the demand increases for the third sector to become more sophisticated in measuring and capturing outcomes, we need to consider how we can effectively capture short and long term outcomes of volunteering. As the Demos report Measuring Social Value: the gap between policy and practice (2010) highlights, many third sector organisations are not yet ready to identify and measure outcomes in a quantitative way. Research to date suggests we’re on the right track to measure immediate outcomes, so it’s perhaps a case of refining and re-developing existing tools. However we’ve a long way to go to measure the long term impacts and the volunteering sector requires support and expertise to enable this to happen.
v’s longitudinal scoping research is work in progress. Securing support to enable longitudinal research in this area will certainly be a long term project but one that is very much required. If you’re interested in finding out more about this work and would like to become more involved please do contact me on Hannah.Mitchell@vinspired.com.
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By Chris v20 15th June 10
(Building on left is where we met, in the Atlee Suite)
For me, to increase awareness is all about young people getting a true understanding of how the government actually works. Knowing that politics is not necessarily a bunch of white middle class males writing a lots of dos and don’ts, but a place for diversity, which determines what bus a young person would get to school, to the places they choose to hang-out. Simon Hughes spoke (Deputy Leader of the Lib-Dems) spoke about Youth Participation. One thing that stood out for me is when he highlighted how often politicians can forget about young people, especially those who are not able to vote, and have a tendency to look upon the elderly, which in turn they will most likely see the fruits of their action, in the form of a vote. To be able to engage young people at an early stage would be the key to seeking their vote and building up trust with them. He said the key was to act now and not look solely into the future.
This opportunity to get into parliament was second to none! Stepping into Parliament was a whole different experience; up until my time started on v20 I probably would have said that politics is certainly not for me, but going to this event helped me understand the reality of how my everyday life is affected as a young person. Today was an ample opportunity to MINGLE, MINGLE, MINGLE with the other organisations/ groups and the MP’s that are involved with NCVYS and find out what they are all about. NCVYS is a group which is set up across all political parties hoping that people who want to see youth in action are heard, taking concerns and hopes to Parliament.
(Mohammed, I, Vanessa and Sonali
In the words of Beyonce: Pose for the camera
now Click Click)It was great to hear positive reports back from different projects, especially those who have been funded by v, knowing that v’s work support was resulting in success. One example was the Prince’s Trust and their Young Ambassador Scheme. When speaking to members it was possible to see that working on similar bases to v20, they had seen progress made in terms of the work they were able to carry out. One young man spoke to the group about his experience. He noted the lack of opportunities in employment, and after emigration from Nigeria and facing some great difficulties, he went on to be part of the scheme of which he was then able to secure a position in the Prince’s trust.
During the networking session I was able to speak to a number of groups, one of which was Hope UK. This is a group which aims to teach people about the awareness of drugs and alcohol amongst young people. I couldn’t believe after talking to them how much I needed this service. In July 2010 I start a job in Health Research, as an intern, and this is one of the areas I will be looking at and people at Hope UK offered to help me in this by offering to training and support. Overall this experience helped me to build confidence, so that I could more easily approach people. With a job to do, and clear vision of wanting to bring about unity I was greatly encouraged to approach people that I thought I wouldn’t be able to. I look forward to being involved with similar opportunities, who knows it could be Chris Willis MP ….
(Me pictured as James Bond, along with
friend (Miss Morrison) as the bond girl) -
By Mo v20 14th June 10
Last Thursday, I and fellow v20 members Chris, Sonali and Vanessa were lucky enough to stroll into Portcullis House, Parliament to showcase v’s work alongside other volunteering organsations at the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services reception, in association with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs – what a mouthful. Two hours of sharing experiences with other young volunteers, making contacts and scouting for MPs, it was a fantastic experience.
The committee room was small and the room was full to its brim – a testament to dispel the myth that adults don’t care about young people.It was my first time networking with so many people. It was really inspiring and great to see so many people out to see the work of young volunteers.The event started off with a speech by Natascha Engel MP (Chair of the APPGYA), who talked about the issues young people, volunteers in particular, face today. Shortly after, three young people showcased their volunteering success and their experiences but one really stood out to me.
Peter, a Young Ambassador for the Princes Trust, spoke about his hardships after immigrating from Nigeria and how he overcame personal problems by volunteering in his community with the Princes Trust and contacted his local MP. He subsequently managed to do a years work shadowing with Nick Hurd. Nick Hurd is the newly-appointed Minister for Civil Society and he also spoke. His speech underlined a message about ‘big society’ and pledges to make volunteering easier. Mr Hurd spoke about the desire to consult communities, including young people on how to make volunteering better. Though, I lost track the number of times ‘big society’ was said on the night and Mrs Engle later refrained from using the term!
Tim Loughton MP, Sonali and Me
Then, the event kicked off. We had our stand with v stuff and began to network with many of organisations present. Then slowly, MPs drifted in. We spoke to James Morris MP and Nick Hurd MP discussing volunteering and future of v. v20 member Vanessa discussed her vcashpoint project with him and he was deeply impressed. We also talked briefly to Tim Loughton, the Childrens Minister.
Then came along Lisa Nandy MP, newly elected to represent Wigan, not far from where I live. She wandered over to our desk and I started talking to her about her v, and her previous work at the Children’s Society. Then, we
Lisa Nandy MP
managed to discover we were both born, lived and studied in Bury. Small world, isn’t it? Before ending our 10 minute conversation, she offered to put pressure on the Government to keep supporting the work of v and said she would ask a question in Parliament on my behalf; this made me feel very proud that I successfully networked and lobbied an MP for the first time. She also offered me to do work placement at her office. It truly shows young people have enormous influence and power, contrary to popular belief. We can do it!
I believe politicians do want to hear from us and it’s up to you to let them know. Email your local MP, tell them about your views and issues, and get involved locally.
Myself and Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes, the new deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats came, in spectacular fashion with 10 minutes before the event ended and made a small speech with a large effect on me. He talked about local participation, whether in schools or colleges and urged MPs to offer work experience to young people. He he also talked about action now, not in the future. He urged young people to get involved now and get involved in politics as politics affects everyone and everything. He’s right and I echo his message.
I really enjoyed the event, it brought us out of our shells and got us speaking to the politicians and other young people and only encouraged us to get involved even more.
Click here to see more photos of the event. Bye for now.
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At the heart of Anatomy of Youth, the new report by v and Demos, is a set of youth portraits – each providing a snap shot of how young people are confronting the challenges and issues that face their generation.In his foreword to the report, David Willetts MP – recently made Minister for Universities and Science – said he ‘welcomed this publication which looks at the younger generation from a fresh perspective. We hear the voice of young people themselves’. David Willetts’s endorsement is particularly pleasing given his own work looking at the relationship between the generations, most recently in his book, ‘The Pinch: How the Baby Boomers Took Their Children’s Future – And How They Can Give it Back’.
To coincide with the launch of Anatomy of Youth last week we heard from v’s advisory board, v20, who produced insightful takes on the report’s key themes; digital identity, effective citizens, new families, changing communities, and climate change.
v is proud to act as a strong advocate for young people, so too are the many hundreds of organisations we fund and work with. A great example is ITV Fixers, which this week launched the London part of their national roll out. Fixers are young people aged between 16 and 25 who identify an issue of concern and with practical help and guidance, ‘fix’ it. The range of projects is impressive, as is the energy and commitment of the young people involved.
ITV Fixers is run by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT) with the support from v through its Match Fund. Given the Trust’s unique relationship with ITV, Fixers are given a platform to get their voice heard by a large audience in the early evening regional news programme, and to follow their progress through the online channel ITV Fixers. Since its launch, over 11 hours of programming has been broadcast showcasing Fixer’s projects. A great assault on the negative perception of young people. And just one of the ways v and its partners are enabling young people to contribute to the causes and communities they care about, particularly those who are new to volunteering and those from hard to reach or disadvantaged groups.
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From festivals to living without power, v has made summer the time to give. The Summer of Give Campaign is offering 18-25 year olds all over England the chance to get a free ticket to some of the UK’s biggest festivals in return for just four hours of their time showcasing their talents. Volunteers can get involved by pitching to showcase a special talent on the bigvbus. Aspiring DJ’s and bands could hit the top deck of the bigvbus and play a warm up festival set while promising photographers and writers snap, blog and tweet the festival scene. Graffiti artists and dancers could even hold master classes on-board. For those who aren’t sure that they have a special talent, v has whole load of spaces for Promotional Volunteers at each Festival who will help to spread the word about volunteering and in return, will receive their festival ticket for free.
Festivals include;
★ Isle of Wight Festival on 11th – 13th June.
★ T4 On the Beach on 4th July
★ Relentless Boardmasters on 4th – 8th August
★ V Festival on 20th – 22nd August
★ Creamfields on 28th – 29th AugustFor those young people who want to save the world, protect the environment AND enjoy the madness of one of the UK’s top music festivals, v have teamed up with Coca Cola and RECOUP to launch the Live Positively Campaign. After a study found that packaging was the biggest part of a drink’s carbon footprint, v and Coca Cola have set up this project to educate and encourage everyone to recycle at music events (and everywhere else), by taking a more creative view of recycling.
On another eco-note, Npower and v have launched No Power Hour, a new campaign to encourage children to find alternative, fun, eco-friendly ways to spend their time, particularly during the sunny summer months. Npower are giving 16-25 year olds in Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle and Leeds the opportunity to get involved in a range of activities in local primary schools inspiring young children take part in a range of exciting, creative and outdoor activities.
And if none of that gets young people giving, they can still visit vinspired.com for a whole range of other volunteering opportunities this summer, including a special section for Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June 2010).
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