12 months - what a rollercoaster

Last night, being in the last few weeks of my college course and having just done my last Team v event, I was thinking back. In the last year I have:

. Completed hundreds of hours of volunteering
. Reached thousands of young people through Team V and got to volunteer with some of the greatest people I know
.Almost finished a college course up to merit standard
.Reached many other volunteering achievements

I know I perhaps keep doing this. Going over what I have done but to be fair, looking back, it is kind of hard to believe. There may have been hard moments but I've learnt a lot from it and I'm proud of the whole of Team v for the change that we have made. The saying "You learn something new everyday" perhaps is sometimes pushing it but with college and volunteering, I probably have and I've enjoyed it.

Yes, fair enough, I did come back from Team v Residential 2 and almost fall asleep in my tea but for the fulfillment I have got out of working with some inspirational leaders and gaining skills that are really valuable is what makes it worth it. Additionally, contributing to many consultations as part of my volunteering is something I will never forget. It might sound boring but to get the chance to do this is an honor.

Apart from the volunteering and college, it's been fun to meet new people and in a way, become more independent. The great thing about college and volunteering is that there is that element of it but perhaps equally important is that through Team v, I get to tell the stories and hear about stories of the most inspirational young people. To take the example of Stephen Sutton, who was taken to the hearts of the nation after his recent bucket list challenge for Teenage Cancer Trust in his last days. Although this is an example of something national, it is still great to say that there are young people who want to make a change for the better.

The great thing about the last twelve months is that I've been able to see the good work of young people from various sides. This is firstly, quite fun but also something that you gain from yourself and you learn from. I have five weeks left of college to get a merit grade and then, over the 12 weeks I have off, I am going to see how many hours I can do of volunteering. sounds good to me. What do you think?

Finally, if Team v sounds good and you would like to be our successors, please take a look at http://goo.gl/tGHD5t to see if it takes your fancy. I hope you enjoyed my post and please leave comments if you want. Team V Out!

Not long now - They think it's all over, it is now

Having had a pretty hectic couple of weeks, with exams, final projects, getting grades up and volunteering, it's been a bit of a roller-coaster. I am glad to say, however, that as of Thursday, I will have done my Team V event and hopefully be able to concentrate on college work for the next few weeks. As much as I will be glad to have a break from organizing Team v stuff, I'm also going to miss it. The people I've met through it and the stories I've heard have been so inspirational and fun. When you are just thinking that it's impossible,
their inspiration gives you a boost.

Additionally, the great thing about volunteering with Team v is that you get to learn on the job, sometimes without even realizing it. Especially in the first campaign where, despite it being hard to do at times, I carried on and learnt from it for the second and third campaigns. If I will take anything from this experience, it's that there are some really inspirational and fun volunteers and you really can change the world, one campaign at a time.

Back onto the current campaign, Routes to Roots, I have my event on Thursday and hope to get lots of customers at the stall. Hopefully, two stalls on international issue in one week won't be too much for Darlington College Students. We had a stall on the EU yesterday. It got quite a good response so hopefully it will be the same for us. Plus, I would like to say a giant Team V Thank You to Darlington College for allowing me to hold events for all of my campaigns in Central Point. They have, at times, gone beyond the Call of Duty (you can tell I do Media, can't you? the awful puns on really popular video games).

Oh well. So, stories at the ready, display still to make. I think I'm almost ready. The only limitation of holding events in Darlington College is that only those who are staff or students are allowed on site, limiting who I can reach. Nevertheless, it should be a good day (it better be). On the other hand, this won't be my only achievement for volunteering (see below)

400 hours (almost)

Having been volunteering for at least 3 years now, I have reached 391 volunteering hours and despite Team v's early celebration, I am not quite to 400, however, aim to get there within the next week. I've been told that there is a qualification for those who reach 500 hours so I am hoping that I will get there soon. Nevertheless, I do it to enjoy myself and keep myself occupied. Not as a way to get recognized.

Overall, this coming week is going to be very busy, however, I'm still up for it and I will try to keep you up to date with my progress, both at college and in volunteering. I might be putting a counter on my blog to count up to the 500th hour, however, this is only so you can keep track of it. I hope you like the volunteering challenge and please shout out about the campaign. Team V \Out!