"Volunteering with the Family Support Service helped me to get an understanding of the roles within the service and reinforced my desire to work with families & young children/babies"

Caudwell Youth mentors at-risk young people aged 11-24 years into new futures over a period of 2 years. They currently work across Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes. Meet ‘Sam’ (20) and Mentor Jack from Luton. Sam has learning difficulties and came to Caudwell Youth as he was struggling to make friends and become independent. “He is at college and volunteers once a week at a youth centre, since starting to work with us Jack has worked with Sam to build his social confidence and resulted in a trial shift for part time work. They both love computing and Jack is supporting Sam to build his own pc using his knowledge”. This is just one example of how Caudwell Youth's mentoring model is person-centred, and how they match young people and volunteer mentors based on interests, skills and personality. This ensures the young person receives support completely tailored to them. "We always keep the young person’s best interests at hear" Find out more about the volunteering opportunities with Caudwell Youth https://www.govolherts.org.uk/o/Caudwell-Youth

Meet Polly, one of the incredible team of volunteer Number Ninjas, located across the county of Hertfordshire and ready to support residents in improving their number skills! (Polly is on the right of this photo, pictured with a Hertfordshire resident, Abbi). Improving number skills can have a positive effect in many ways; from being able to better support children during their education, to improving the finances and financial prospects of a household through better money decisions. Likewise, at work, with improved numeracy, productivity and profits increase for a business which has an effect on the wider economy, so there’s lots of good reasoning behind this drive to make us love numbers! The Government is dedicating a large amount of money to this cause and that’s why the Multiply programme has been established. Funding is being allocated to various councils and Step2Skills is heading up the Multiply programme in Hertfordshire. With this level of funding, we couldn’t do it alone and we are partnering with a number of organisations across the county to deliver Multiply-funded workshops/courses and support local residents with number skills. Number Ninja Polly is currently located at Create Community Network in Letchworth. The Number Ninjas are a vital part of the Multiply journey as they are the first point of contact with someone and can find out more about how someone could use the help of Step2Skills with their number skills. Thank you Polly and the Number Ninja team! To find out more about this opportunity please visit https://www.govolherts.org.uk/o/Step2Skills/opportunities

Meet Maria, she volunteers for the Waterways Experiences - who enable everyone, regardless of age, physical ability or social disadvantage to experience the fun and the beauty of our waterways. What prompted you to join Waterways Experiences? I went on a day trip and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning how to operate the locks and steer the boat. The crew were friendly and informative and thought it was a wonderful way to give back to the community as well as meet some amazing people. I worked shifts so was looking to do something worthwhile with my free time. The bonus being its outdoors, (not so good when its pouring down with rain, but the hot tea more than makes up for the British weather) and seeing the changes to the canal throughout the seasons. Loved the relaxed pace of meandering up or down the canal. What role(s) do you have in WExp? I'm part of the Marketing team, Enable team and also do some crewing What do you enjoy most about being with Waterways Experiences? Being with waterways has been a breath of fresh air, seeing the time and effort put in by the volunteers is inspiring. I have met and worked alongside some lovely people. My only experience of steering a boat was a brief trip on the Norfolk Broads not my best endeavour, but with the guidance and patience of the more experienced crew members my confidence is gradually increasing. I have loved learning new skills and being part of a team. Its also given me the confidence to own a small river cruiser. What do you say to your friends about volunteer for Waterways Experiences? My friends think its a brilliant idea and such a worthy cause. and living so close to the canal its an obvious choice. Check out the volunteering opportunities available here https://www.govolherts.org.uk/o/7217845-