Youth making a difference

Willing workers: Trying out the turf couch they built at the Port Chalmers Community Garden are Volunteering Otago holiday programme participants and helpers (back from left) Arowen Landis, Renee Hodgkinson (15), Marianne Chia (17), youth co-ordinator Lani Evans, Joshua Petermann (11), Robert Vaughan, (front from left) Olivia Pleace (13), Jessi Lavelle-Pool (13), Aimie Hodgkinson (12), Marianne Perry and George Wallace (13).

Perceptions of young people as self-centred and apathetic are ill-founded, says the Volunteering Otago youth co-ordinator who is running the popular service-oriented initiative.

‘‘It is an absolute fallacy,'' Ms Evans said. ‘‘Young people are really enthusiastic about helping.''

During the past two weeks, Ms Evans has run the holiday programmes, which offered not movies and trips to the pool, but the chance to dig a community garden, help at Women's Refuge, host a disability dance and bake for food banks.

Young people had jumped at the chance to make a difference, Volunteering Otago manager Susie Yeats said.

‘‘The week-long programmes have been totally full and we have still been getting more calls,'' Ms Yeats said.

Young volunteers digging garden beds and creating a turf couch at the Port Chalmers Community Garden this week said they were enjoying the experience and having a lot of fun.

George Wallace (13) had helped paint a mural at the start of the Ravensbourne cycle track last week and was back for more. ‘‘It's good to see some others here again this week . . . and it helps the community,'' he said.

Olivia Pleace (13) did not think she and the other holiday programme participants had an unusual attitude. ‘‘Most young people aren't self-centred,'' she said. ‘‘It's a great feeling when you achieve something and can see what you've done.''

The only thing stopping young people volunteering was a lack of opportunity, Ms Evans said.

‘‘They want to help but not in traditional ways,'' she said. ‘‘Young people are proactive and self-organising. They want to do it right now, while they are excited about it.''

Since Ms Evans started as youth co-ordinator in March last year, the percentage of under-30-year-olds volunteering had doubled, Ms Yeats said.
‘‘Of the 420 new volunteers we had in 2008, about 65 per cent of them were under-30,'' she said.

Initiatives have included the holiday programmes, which give young people insights into the work of a variety of voluntary organisations.

The holiday programmes, which are funded by a Vodafone Foundation Award, will run during school holidays this year.

If they continue to be successful, the programmes are likely to be picked up by other Volunteering New Zealand branches.

This year, Volunteering Otago will also work with several Dunedin schools introducing school volunteer projects.