Volunteering challenge update and other volunteering bits

Having been doing Team V for some months now, it is sad to think that we are nearly on the last campaign, however, I am excited to find out what it is and do my best to carry it out. Through Team V, I have met some great people, had amazing experiences and gained plenty of volunteering hours. I will be happy to not have to juggle so much with my college work, however, it will be sad to finally see the end of an exciting 9 month journey. The best thing about Team V has to be the people I've met. They are friends that I will never forget.

Aside from the end of Team V nearing, I am also nearing the end of a challenge I set myself to get to 300 hours by the end of February, however, I may not quite make it. I am currently on 292.5, however, that means having to do 3 hours and 15 minutes for the next two days. I know that this, under usual circumstances, would be fine, however, I do have college and I need to improve on work. I may get to 295 or something but I don't know. It was a great target though and I will continue to set realistic targets over the next few months so keep an eye out. I have a feeling that I may have to go in tens or twenties but oh well.

Thirdly and finally, I am really looking forward to seeing my only volunteer (my girlfriend) collect her Vibe Award on the 11th of March. I am so proud of the volunteering she has done with Team V and her local youth group and I admire her for that. I was also glad to hear that staff from my own volunteering that I did 50 hours for over the summer will be there. C:The Box is such a great media hub and youth club and I thank them for the opportunity and what they do with young people is really inspiring (or should I say, Vinspiring). On the other hand, so is the project with which my volunteer volunteers with, Rainbows, which, if I am correct in my research, is run by Girlguiding.

Overall, there is a lot coming up over the next month or so and I will be busy, however, as I'm always saying, it's better than being bored. Plus, it means that I will hopefully do well in my college work and I'll also get more volunteering hours. A bonus - in a way! Anyway, I hope to post again soon and I will be sure to let you know if I get my volunteering challenge completed. Team V Out!

Volunteering Challege Update & Tme to Talk Day 2014

It's about a week since my last post and I have actually surprised myself with the amount of hours I have gained towards my volunteering challenge. I haven't taken any focus from my college work but still managed to get my overall total of hours up to 271 and a half, leaving me with 28.5 hours to go. The challenge is proving to be slightly easier thatn I thought it would be, however, perhaps that's down to the range of volunteering I do. The other day, I managed to log 5 hours within one day. I must have been really bored that day. On the other hand, a big chunk of that came from a project I am still doing for Youth Journalism International. At this rate, I nshould be finsihed way before the 28th, especially if you count Youth Council and Flying High hours.

The other thing that I would like to do this post on is Time to Talk Day 2014, a chance for many to promise to erase the stigma around mental health. The fact is that an increasing number of young people are suffering from such conditions, either down to trouble at home or stress with college or university work, amoung other things. We cannot treat young people, many of which have great potential, as outsiders just because they suffer from a mental health condition. If anything, we should be helping them get on with their lives, going to college, getting a job. They have just the same rights as all of us so why should that make them different.

Having seen much conversation about the topic on Twitter and Facebook, I came across this vlog from a fellow Team V Leader, in which he shares his take on Take to Talk 2014.  

I feel that we should do more to support everyone with mental health problems, however, being a young person, I get that it is important to tackle this problem first, in order to allow young people to have everyday lives without having to deal with a Stigma. If you would like to find out more about time to talk 2014, head to http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/talkday for more info. If you want to keep track of my volunteering challenge, there is a count down at the side of this blog or keep up to date with my posts which will include regular countdowns. Hope you like this post and see you back here soon.