The North York Moors National Park Authority is a signatory to the Power of Youth charter, meaning we have made a public commitment to support and empower young people to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and broader society.
This week, 20-24 November, is #iwill week - a celebration of the #iwill movement and the work of young people, Ambassadors, Champions, and partners.
Here we share a piece written by Dawn Haida, from the North York Moors Volunteering Team, about her personal connection to volunteering and why she feels so passionately about working alongside young people.
Having been completely focused on a very intense career for over 44 years I have always used volunteering as an escape from the pressures and stresses of the workplace, it provides me with a sense of being, as well as numerous other positives – developing new skills, seeing new places, meeting new people, and doing something for others and the environment.
As a child I was lucky be encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities through various clubs and groups, being an outdoor kid and having a rural “playground” I had plenty of opportunities to explore and learn – although we just saw it as FUN! It was only later in life that I realised how important it was for me to have a connection to nature and the outdoors and to be involved in supporting young people to volunteer was the main reason I started volunteering with the Outdoor Learning Team.
Volunteering is hugely important in my life, I volunteer as often as I can, both for the NYMNP and various community and archaeology groups. I like to think I am giving something back and now understand the importance outdoor opportunities have had on my personal wellbeing – both mentally and physically.
I believe volunteering is important for individuals of all ages to build character and strengthen connections, but it is especially important for children. Volunteering helps form a good basis for life skills - learning to respect others, social skills, teamwork, leadership skills, it encourages inclusion and communication and helps to develop an understanding of people from other backgrounds. These are all valuable skills that can be transferred to other areas of your life, and the ability for young people to share volunteering on their CV is likely to impress future employees, showing commitment and involvement.
There are many young people with the time to help their community and volunteer - though too often - volunteering opportunities are aimed at people over 18, the North York Moors outdoor learning programme opens volunteering opportunities to family groups and young people from 4 to 17 years of age, creating an incredible chance to encourage learning and development in the outdoors and the team have pushed this one step further to extend into the less privileged communities on the periphery of the National Park. I thoroughly enjoy involvement with these groups seeing the positive changes and development of these young people is great, when they see that their activities have a positive impact on society and the people around them, their confidence increases, and they feel happier. One family brought their children and it was the first time they had seen the sea – the things we take for granted!
Volunteering has innumerable mental health benefits and can also improve happiness and overall wellbeing. Whether or not young people understand the significance of mental health, if the opportunity to be away from peer pressures and be themselves in a natural environment, amazing themselves with what they can achieve, both as an individual or as part of a group gives them a “feel good” factor I feel we have instilled some good foundations for their future.
In involving adult volunteers with the younger groups includes a further dimension, these individuals are not parents, teachers, or even leaders of the groups and as such I believe the young people see them as part of the group and not one of the leaders, I think this brings a different prospective and “relationship” to the group and increases the diversification of the team.
Volunteering gives me immense pleasure. The more I give, the happier I seem to be. Volunteering with young people and seeing them gain in both self-confidence and esteem is really satisfying and, hopefully we will instil into them a feeling of wanting to volunteer in future, be it in their local community, college, or university setting – our young people are the future and I hope they continue to help us look after the North York Moors for future generations.