Over the last year and a bit, I have been volunteering with a steering group run by Barnardos called Flying High and have more recently had the opportunity to represent them on the North Yorkshire Youth Council. Aside from the personal achievements, I have loved being able to represent the young disabled people of North Yorkshire and to feedback to various organisations on the views of such a group. In the last year, I have not only met lots of new friends and the group, in our last meeting, having the strongest number of people for quite a while. The group have also had the chance to consult with schools around the county, feed into research and reports being done by the Council for Disabled Children. Subsequently, perhaps as a result of that sort of exposure, we now have the opportunity to take part in a consultation with the Childrens Commission and feed into a report on the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
This, as I am sure you will understand, is a great opportunity for the group and it shows what we have achieved. Additionally, it is also another example of no matter how small you may think you are in terms of influence, it just goes to show the massive impact small actions can have. I guess this applies to all my volunteering in different ways, however, lets just say it's not as evident. The group has been going for a number of years now and I know that they will have achieved a lot in that time, however, this has to be a milestone in their history and I'm glad that I was there to have my part in it.
In this case, they have definitely lived up to their namesake. We certainly have Flown High in making sure that the views and needs of young disabled people are being taken into account. In one of my next posts, I will be looking at what I have actually achieved though my volunteering. This is not a way to boast but it is important to show the significance of volunteering and the impact it can have, whoever you are and wherever you come from.
School consultations in your mind might sound boring but this is about improving the education of these young disabled people so that they get more out of it and can learn in ways that suit them. I have had the experience of going to one such consultation myself and I can see how it does matter. This is also at an advantage to the local government who can get direct feedback from the young people that many of their schools and colleges serve (well, almost direct. it goes through Flying High but we don't adjust it).
In my view, Flying High is still doing exactly that and long may it continue. This month, I will be submitting a Positive Story to the British Youth Council on behalf of Flying High and as I look back, I can't help but think "Wow. What a year!".
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