Young Volunteers taking the lead and saying they want to ‘Be Part of It’
New youth focused project connecting communities.
Clare Volunteer Centre are leading the ‘Be Part of It’ project aimed at enabling more young people to get involved in their local communities through volunteering.
Over 220 students from Ennis & North Clare met in Glór on Friday 22nd to participate in the ‘Be Part of It’ Expo.
The event was attended by over 20 community & voluntary groups who had attended the Clare Volunteer Centre training and acknowledged the benefits of encouraging more young people to get involved through volunteering.
The keynote speaker at the event was Lorraine Tansey, Student Volunteer Coordinator of the Community Knowledge Initiative and Volunteer Coordinator of the NUI Galways ALIVE programme. Lorraine challenged the students to look beyond their comfort zone and embrace the possibilities that being involved in their local communities could bring.
Sharon Meaney, Manager of the Clare Volunteer Centre, gave an insight into the project “we ran an innovative training programme aimed at community & voluntary groups to look at how we could positively engage young people through volunteering in early September and were delighted with the feedback and enthusiasm of the organisations involved. We have been visiting schools raising awareness of the programme and volunteering in general and have been overwhelmed with the positive engagement of the students and their teachers. Today’s event is about highlighting the diversity of volunteer roles available for young people in Co. Clare and promoting the community and voluntary organisations who have embraced this programme.
As a community we will all benefit from encouraging more young people to get involved in community engagement, the organisations and schools who have participated in this project today have shown their willingness to ‘Be Part of It’.
