AIBU to ask what ‘volunteering’ your yr9/14 year old did for DoE?

[Guiltridden12345]

My daughter wants to do this next year. Skill and sport are sorted, expedition will hopefully be planned with the leaders. But the opportunities for volunteering roles are pretty limited for this age group, with the DoE website having few ideas. Most shops/charities/rescue centres require 16 year olds and older. Can I ask what your 14 year olds did for their bronze volunteering element?

We’re down in Surrey and mine helped out at a club for young autistic kids called All Aboard Club - he helped set out train track in a large hall, lightly assisted throughout (replacing train batteries, fixing broken track) and clearing up afterwards. It ran in several locations and there were quite a few d of e volunteers.
For silver he’s helping out at a local community garden where they need volunteers for weeding, hedge building, planting etc. Lots of d of e bronze there too.

Friends are helping at scouting for younger ones, or sports clubs, or litter picking.

We actually found the all aboard club through the council website looking for volunteering opportunities- it was nearly all for much older age ranges / adults, but this one popped up.

Young leader in Scouting. If you ask they are happy to have non-Scouts doing this as long as they have spaces

Helped at a local Foodbank, although I had to go with her and volunteer too

Rainbows. She was already a Guide.

Church Sunday school type help
and when this clashed with another commitment she did some of it flexibly - preparing materials for the sessions.

Helping at children's nursery after school, helping in the library, Sunday school helper, Oxfam volunteer.

When I did it that section was called Service not Volunteering and I got away with learning lifesaving.
The Doea web site suggests there are online volunteering opportunities
https://www.dofe.org/dofewithadifference/activities/volunteering/

Although possibly that dates from the pandemic

My DS worked through an online coding course with his cousin who is not able to cope with mainstream schooling.

You may need to go with her to an in person session unless it is something with younger children where the leaders will be DBS anyway. You could see if your local council has summer schemes they could help on? Otherwise there are remote volunteering projects (google). Quite a nice one for someone with an interest in humanities is the London Metropolitan Archives Picture Archive project where they get a spreadsheet of images from a street or streets and have to go into Google Street view and work out where the photographer was standing and describe what the picture shows

https://londonhistorians.wordpress.com/tag/volunteering/

Dd is helping at guides but some of the charity shops have signs up saying they take helpers from 14 (I think scope is one off the top of my head) and last year the library was running a scheme for 14 year olds to volunteer over the summer holidays; I’ve not actually seen the posters this year but may be worth asking

Food bank and community larder.

Young Leader in Scouts helping out in the Beaver section

I’m a scout leader and we have them volunteering with us all the time, I usually put them with the beavers, they seem to fit in well there.
Our local park run also has volunteers on a Sunday morning, they are helping marshalling the route.

Mine helped out at her local brownies group.

Also we have loads of local charity shops, they all said age 16 minimum when we enquired.

GirlGuiding accept volunteers for DofE from 13. Usually with Rainbows and Brownies unless 15+ as Guides goes up to 14.
You can register via their website. They are officially called young external volunteers and don't need to be members.
It's common for young people to enjoy it so much that they then stay on and join as a member and continue as a Young Leader.
Guiding accepts both male and female volunteers but only young women can join as a Young Leader.

My son has just gone his bronze, he’s still 13 (year 9).
He gave up a break time weekly and washed pots for his food tech teacher.

DD’s school let them all be reading rangers and listen to the year 7’s read during tutor time. Win win for school I think! But gets it done and they know they’ve all done it.

My 14 yr old helped in the kitchen of a local charity - washing pots, cleaning after the cafe closed etc. She started as DofE volunteer but enjoyed it a lot so she stayed for months afterwards. Great experience and she feels ready to apply for paid jobs now she’s almost 16

Helped at brownies for a year
.

My DC volunteered at the Commonwealth Games as a Net Bowler for 32 hours for the ladies cricket teams and at club level helped with coaching young children in cricket skills and setting out and cleaning up equipment every week for months last summer. He's done his Coaches Assistant Award too.

The big Wildlife Trust place near us did Saturday volunteering sessions geared to teens of this age - the kids did things like helping to build 'outdoors classrooms' for visiting schoolkids.

Volunteered at local Parkrun. They always need helpers.

Mine also worked in a charity shop - Scope