The number of young people taking on the challenge of a Duke of Edinburgh award has been growing steadily. The scheme was set up in the 1950s, and there are now young people in 144 countries working towards Bronze, Silver or Gold awards. Everyone knows about the expedition element, with young people hiking, canoeing or camping. But there’s lots more to the DofE than just the outdoors life. At all levels of the award, young people have to prove that they have developed a skill, taken part in a physical activity, and volunteered in their local community. It’s up to the young people to source their own volunteer opportunities, so where do you start?
How much volunteering do you have to do?
The Duke of Edinburgh award is at three levels. Anyone over the age of 14 can start working towards their Bronze award, and will need to volunteer for 12 weeks. 15 year olds can start Siver, and should volunteer for 6 months. Over 16s can start Gold after completing silver, requiring 12 months voluntary work. It’s important to remember that it’s the regular commitment which is important. Young people can’t take the one hour per week over 12 weeks and do just two six hour voluntary shifts over one weekend. There also has to be a way of documenting your volunteering, or have someone to vouch for you.What types of volunteer opportunities are there?
There are as many ideas for volunteering as there are young people doing their D of E award. At Bronze level, it can be tricky. 14 year olds are still children, and this raises all sorts of issues around DBS checks for other volunteer adults working with them. However, there are still lots of possibilities. Here are a few ideas to get you started.- Parkrun – every weekend, thousands of runners across the UK take part in 5km fun runs. The organisation will be delighted to have volunteers to help with stewarding the course, or timing. Look on the website for details of your nearest event.
- Charity Shops – most of the large chains of charity shops will take volunteers aged over 14. This is a great opportunity to get some solid retail experience too. Volunteers can get involved with customer service, serving at the til or pricing up donations.
- Sport – Active teenagers might choose to do their volunteering in a sports club. In terms of DBS this is one of the easiest choices, as the volunteer will be supporting a fully checked member of staff rather than being left on their own with children.
- Cubs, Scouts, Brownies and Guides – young people who are doing their D of E through the Scouts or Guides often choose to volunteer with a younger age group in the same organisation. The advantage to this is that meetings are generally term time only, and relatively short.