Haywards Heath College partners with charity to launch Youth Volunteering Project

Haywards Heath College hosted local charity ‘Community People Mid Sussex’, as the charity launched their Youth Volunteering project, in partnership with the college.

Community People Mid Sussex are a Burgess Hill-based charity, which aims to support communities to thrive, through championing the role of community organisations and the people who power them.

One of these community organisations will be a youth volunteering project at the college. It will involve students creating, planning and organising their own volunteering opportunity and getting others involved on the day.

In this initial session, which took place in November, students from a variety of courses discussed what volunteering can do for local communities and the impact it has on the people within the community.

Students were also encouraged to think about potential barriers that young people face in volunteering, benefits of it and why it’s important.

Lilly John, Volunteer & Corporate Engagement Lead for Community People, said: “Working in collaboration with Haywards Heath College has given us the opportunity to speak directly to students and discover what matters to them.

“Over 60 students engaged with our work at the Freshers Fair in September, they scanned our QR code and asked to find out more about the Youth Insights Project.

“We are extremely grateful to Haywards Heath College for connecting with us and supporting us with this project and we’re really looking forward to hosting our Community Volunteer Fair on 25 January 2025 at the college.”

There will then be further sessions over the coming weeks to plan for a volunteering event, which will take place in the Spring term.

Paul Riley, Principal of Haywards Heath College, added: “Partnering with Community People Mid Sussex on this Youth Volunteering project provides our students with a unique opportunity to not only develop valuable skills but also to create meaningful change within their local community. We’re excited to see their ideas come to life and the impact this project will have.”

To learn more about Community People Mid Sussex, visit: https://communitypeople.org.uk/