Participation in society and volunteering for care leavers

An important part of becoming independent, is getting involved in society. From joining clubs to voting in elections. Your Personal Adviser will want to help you work out what is important to you and how you can get involved. This might include:

  • providing information on groups and clubs you may wish to join
  • telling you about relevant awards, schemes and competitions you can enter
  • telling you about voluntary work that may interested you
  • helping you find, and possibly helping with the cost of leisure activities
  • encouraging and helping you to enrol on the Electoral Register, so you can vote in elections
  • helping you access legal advice or other support if you run into difficulty
  • giving you advice and helping you to challenge any discrimination you might experience

You might be interested in

Cambridge Re-Use

Volunteering opportunities and guaranteed interviews for Care Leavers at a furniture recycling charity. Such as I.T./Social Media, Drivers mate or Till Assistant. Lunch and travel costs included

Please call Cara on 01223 414554 and mention 'Care Leaver' status.

Barnardos

A 4-8 week work experience placement for care leavers, supported by a personal mentor.

Please visit your local Barnardos store and mention 'Care Leaver' status

Salvation Army

Care Leaver volunteering opportunity with a free nationally recognised work-based qualification.

Visit www.satcol.org or visit your local Salvation Army Charity shop and fill in an application form. Please mention your 'Care Leaver' status when applying.

There are opportunities throughout Peterborough to volunteer and gain valuable life skills and experience. This can be very rewarding and the skills and experience you pick up can make you much more employable and help you get a job in the future. Even if it is only a few hours a month it is still worth doing.

For further information on opportunities to volunteer for the council or in the local community please see our volunteering page.

Voting is a key part of our society, influencing who our government will be and the direction and approach the nation takes to many issues, including children’s social care. There are various instances in which you might want to vote:

  • General Election: where you choose who you want your local MP to be, which will then influence which political party has overall control of the country
  • Local Election: where you chose who you want to represent your interests at your local council
  • Referendum: usually a one off vote on a significant issue facing the county such as the vote to leave the European Union in 2016

In order to be able to vote you first need to register. You can do this yourself online at: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. It should only take roughly five minutes. If you need any help or support with registering to vote talk to your Personal Adviser.

Once you have registered, when a vote is due to take place you should receive a poll card that will let you vote at your designated polling station. There are alternatives to voting in person such as a proxy or postal vote. Further information can be found on gov.uk .

The National Citizenship Service (NCS) is an experience designed to make you feel challenged and changed, engaged and empowered. Combining adventure with Social Action. They run a summer program that runs over the course of a few weeks or a shorter autumn program that fits within a week. You need to be 15-17 to apply, there is a cost although this can be negotiated depending on your circumstances.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) is designed to challenge you and push you that extra mile. There are three different versions of the award: bronze, silver and gold. The bronze and silver award consist of four stages: volunteering, physical activity, skills development and an expedition, while Gold also includes a residential stage. The authority has a dedicated DofE worker so if you would like to know more talk to your Personal Adviser.