About us

 Its mission is to make volunteering opportunities so diverse, compelling and easy to get involved with that giving up your time to help others becomes a natural lifestyle choice for 16-25 year olds in England.

Since its launch in May 2006, v has worked with over 500 charities and community organisations to create over 900,000 youth volunteering opportunities. Of these, 467,000 are short term or taster opportunities, 421,000 are part time, and 20,000 are full time. Over 400,000 of these have already been taken up, with the rest being offered to young people up to March 2011.

Opportunities for all young people in England

v believes that every young person has the right to volunteer, and reaches out to disadvataged young people and those who've never considered volunteering. v's projects are designed to engage young people who are under-represented  in volunteering – for example, minority groups and those not in education, employment or training.

The network of 107 vinvolved teams has been established to provide local advice and support for every young person in England, no matter where they live.

vinspired.com makes it easy for young people to find information about volunteering opportunities.

Led by young people

v is led by the interests, cares and passions of young people, through the v20 youth advisory board and 107 youth action teams all over England.  More than 12,000 young people have already been consulted through v's extensive research strategy.   

v promotes youth leadership, and has helped more than 1,700 young people to set up their own voluntary projects with funding from vcashpoint. v challenges the negative image of young people and champions the positive contributions they make.

Working in partnership

v was created in 2006 as a result of the Russell Commission Report, A National Framework for Youth Action and Engagement . Its work is funded by the Office of the Third Sector and by over 150 companies, trusts & foundations and private individuals, through the match fund scheme, which doubles the value of new investments in youth volunteering.

v recognises and promotes the skills, experience and confidence which can be gained through volunteering, and campaigns to have the benefits of volunteering recognised by everyone. The vinspired awards provide formal recognition of the time and skills invested by young volunteers, and of the resulting benefits to people, communities and the environment. Through v’s partnerships, the private sector, government and wider society is increasingly valuing young volunteers.