We run volunteering projects to help young people get involved in their local community. They work around the busy times in the academic year and provide experience in areas like event management, fundraising and health and social care. Some are one off events like the Orkney Youth Awards, others are a more regular commitment like visiting a local care home.
If you are interested in any of these groups, get in touch with us by messaging our Brian Eilidh Vaorkney Facebook page, talking to us at a school drop-in or filling out the form at the bottom of the page.
Get Ready to Volunteer
For those just starting out on their volunteering journey and in need a little support, our Get Ready to Volunteer course can help. Working together with school staff, we introduce the concepts and the benefits of volunteering, then as a group we plan and run a project.
Intergenerational Projects
These groups visit residents at Gilbertson Day Centre and Hamnavoe House to play games, enjoy live music or make crafts. It’s a great way for the different generations come together to have a good blether and learn how life has changed over the years. These groups help to reduce feelings of isolation and are highly valued. They raise awareness about the need for care and how it is provided in the community with young people and is a great opportunity if you are thinking about a career in care or medicine, or if you just want to make a difference.
Every year, we team up with the Community and Learning Development team at Orkney Islands Council to organise the Orkney Youth Awards. At the event we celebrate the achievements of our young people and highlight the positive contribution they make in the community. A number of different awards are handed out including Saltire Awards. You can find out more about more about the Saltire Awards on their website.
Young volunteers carry out key roles on the night providing entertainment, taking on MC duties and helping with sound engineering. Getting involved in these ways can give you confidence in your public speaking, and the opportunity to try performing onstage in front of a supportive and appreciative audience.
Planning for the event begins in October before the event itself takes place at the end of March.
The ROAR project is made up of a group of S6 pupils from Kirkwall Grammar School. The group forms every year to plan, set up and run public events, often raising money for charity. The group have organised quizzes, live music, ceilidhs and auctions. Group members from past years are invited to take part in the summer event, Loud n' Live which makes it multi generational celebration.
Get involved if you would like to positively contribute to your community and gain skills and experience to increase your employment chances. Some of our young volunteers have gone on to become bookers for venues and committee members for local festivals.
Youth Local Action Group (YLAG)
The Youth Local Action Group (YLAG) empowers young people to be the decision makers about putting money towards a particular problem, issue or youth projects. Members are aged 16-30 and represent a wide range of areas and backgrounds. The group promotes the funding that they have available, reviews applications and agrees together which projects they would like to support, as well as running their own initiatives. We work alongside with members to guide them through the different processes and are there to offer advice when they need it.
Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI)
We help to organise the Wood Foundation’s Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) in Orkney. All S3 pupils in Kirkwall Grammar School and Stromness Academy take part in this annual project, first learning about social issues, then forming teams to produce presentations on local charities working to address their chosen issue in Orkney. The best from each each class are selected to go forward to the school showcase final and we arrange for a judging panel to choose the strongest presentation using criteria set by the Youth Workers Forum. This team is then awarded £3000 to donate to their charity. You can find out more about the Youth Workers Forum in our Partnerships and Engagement section.
As well as the final, we help with the launch events and work with school staff to organise charity fairs at both schools. This is a great opportunity for charities from all over Orkney to come together to raise awareness and highlight their work to the young audience. For the young participants, they have the chance to learn about the breadth of charitable work taking place locally, not just their own chosen area.
