Volunteers' Week: power of youth

This Volunteers’ Week we are celebrating Power of Youth Day. Today is an annual celebration of young people that contribute to society by volunteering. Join us in celebrating all our Youth Healthwatch Volunteers and Work Experience Students, past and present.

Over the years, we been supported by a number of students from City of Wolverhampton College and Juniper Training Ltd. More recently we launched our Youth Healthwatch group; formed of a wonderful group of volunteers aged between 14 and 24. Youth Healthwatch is lead by young volunteers and supported by our Youth Healthwatch Coordinator; a work experience student from a local university.

Between April 2019 and March 2020, 18 students gave 780 hours of their time to Healthwatch Wolverhampton. They were involved in a wide range of activities from making phone calls to supporting Enter and View visits. Students were able to develop their skills whilst working alongside the team and gained real insight into the work of Healthwatch Wolverhampton.

Previously Tracy Cresswell, Healthwatch Manager, has said: "It’s fantastic to see the students grow and develop during their short time with us and it’s great when we are approached by other students who want a placement because they have heard all about it from their friends."

On Friday 28 May, Tracy hosted a volunteer talk on volunteering with students from City of Wolverhampton College. Students discussed the importance of volunteering in their communities as well as the barriers and how overcome them.

Thank you!

As a team, we would like to say thank you to both our young volunteers and work experience students for their support and dedication to Healthwatch Wolverhampton. Secondly, we would like to celebrate the hard work they put into their roles to help influence health and social care services locally.