We combine traditional youth work practices with creativity, technology, and youth leadership, to create an exciting and engaging program for local young people to act as community ambassadors and support our projects and campaigns on children and young people’s health topics.
We aim to ensure that young people’s thoughts, ideas and experiences are listened to and acted upon by decision makers, to make things better for young people across the county.
Why volunteer with Young Healthwatch
Volunteering is a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills and gain valuable experience that can help you as you move through education and employment. Volunteering can be really flexible and there are lots of ways to take part. Volunteering is also a great way to make new friends who have similar interests to you.
Who can volunteer?
Young Healthwatch is open to all young people between the ages of 12-21 living and/or studying in East Sussex.
You don't need any previous experiences or knowledge to be able to volunteer with us, just some spare time and a real interest in helping to make things better for young people.
What do volunteers do?
Volunteers have the opportunity to take part in a range of activities and events depending on what project they are working on. This might include:
- Visits to services e.g. hospitals/ GP practices etc.
- Designing surveys
- Designing and creating artwork, pieces of writing and/or social media posts
- Attending events and being a voice for young people
These activities and events are scheduled at times which suit our volunteers (e.g. in the evenings or during school holidays).
Is volunteering accessible for me?
We aim to make all activity as accessible as possible for everyone volunteering with us. Wherever possible activity is planned during school holidays and/or after school hours, to make sure that our volunteers are able to take part. We pay expenses (e.g. travel costs) so that cost isn’t a barrier to volunteering.
We welcome all young people to volunteer with us, and believe that having a disability or other additional needs should not be a barrier to volunteering. We can support you to make sure that you are able to fully take part in volunteering activities. Any information you share with us about your health/disability and/or additional needs is confidential.
What is the time commitment?
How much time you give as a volunteer is completely up to you—it depends on your interests and the projects or events we currently have running. Some people choose to volunteer for a short time or for a specific project, while others prefer to get involved over a longer period.
As a general guide, we suggest around 4 hours per month, but this is totally flexible. You can give more or less time depending on what works best for you.
Young Healthwatch has given me insight into the importance of the public voice in improving the health and social care services they use…Young Healthwatch has motivated me to take forward what I’ve learnt (specifically about having independent champions of patient voices) to my career.
How do I apply?
For more information about Young Healthwatch volunteering or any of our other volunteer roles please get in touch.
email: volunteer@escv.org.uk
Call: 01323 403590