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Millennium Volunteers (MV) is a national project which aims
to engage 16-24 year olds in voluntary activity, based on
their existing skills and interests, and to accredit them
for their efforts. MV is funded by the Department for Education
and Skills and the range of activities it covers is very wide
- such as environmental work, sports coaching, peer group
mentoring in order to prevent alcohol or drug abuse, and helping
with reading in schools.
In Leeds, for example, Learning Partnerships uses some of
the volunteers to support its 'Read It' programme in local
schools and community centres, where they read with children
and offer them one-to-one literacy support. A representative
of Learning Partnerships visits other agencies accessed by
young people in order to tell them about the project. They
are encouraged to keep volunteering through incentives such
as a youth forum, away days and residentials, and they receive
Awards of Excellence, signed by the Secretary of State for
Education and Skills, after committing 200 hours to the scheme.
Learning Partnerships works in the most deprived regions of
Leeds, but the MV scheme is city-wide, so volunteers themselves
come from a variety of backgrounds.
There are 40 active volunteers involved, with another 60 on
the scheme; numbers both in Leeds and nationally have increased
greatly over the three years that MV has been running, and
there are nearly 100,000 volunteers nationwide. The project
is youth-led and adaptable to the individual which, according
to Learning Partnerships, accounts for its popularity. Through
MV, young people can gain experience, skills and confidence
and make a positive contribution to their community. According
to the DfES, many unemployed young people have moved into
jobs after developing confidence and skills on the programme,
and 65% think their employability has increased. (1)
More on...
(1) UK-Wide Evaluation of the Millennium Volunteers Programme,
DfES, 2002. For details visit www.dfes.gov.uk/research
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