National Volunteers’ Week 2016 starts on 1st June, and this year the week has been extended to twelve days to enable more people than ever to take part and have more time to celebrate. Young Solutions estimate that around 1000 volunteers work in youth clubs and youth organisations across Worcestershire and National Volunteers’ Week will both recognise their contribution and be used to encourage more people to get involved in volunteering.

The efforts of the county’s volunteers provides a shining example of how volunteers make a big contribution to the lives of young people in our communities. Celebrating the efforts and achievements of volunteers is very important to Young Solutions and that is why every year we organise the Tryangle Awards. In 2016 we introduced a new award category that acknowledged the efforts of adult volunteers. The inspiring recipients were:

• Kim Philpotts who runs What Makes You Different Makes You Beautiful which is a Malvern based organisation offering support to children and young people with learning disabilities and difficulties.
• Mathew Rogers who leads a boxing club in Redditch that encourages young people with learning difficulties to participate.
• Aaron Evans who faces challenges with his own health, but this does not stop him from being the organiser of social events for young people with emotional or mental health issues.

These three people are examples of the enormous contribution made by volunteers in Worcestershire, but Young Solutions wants to use National Volunteers’ Week to enthuse others, regardless of age or ability, to get involved.

Events always form a central part of Volunteers’ Week and they provide a chance to profile volunteering and inspire others and get them to give it a try. Young Solutions would like to encourage it members to use Volunteers’ Week to showcase the range of volunteering opportunities available and increase the numbers of people taking part as volunteers.

For more information about Volunteers’ Week please go to www.volunteersweek.org