The second team event we undertook was definitely the biggest and worked to a completely different model. Unlike the Web development team, all of whom responded to an advert for an opportunity and therefore had already made the leap that they might want to do voluntary work, we wanted to target an atypical group of young volunteers. We wanted to give a flavour of the positive benefits of volunteering to young people who were likely never to consider doing it. To do this we knew we needed a partner who could reach this group and a hook to get the young people with. Through our existing connections we teamed up with a local project Streetwork Give Youth a Chance who undertake a variety of detached youth work in one of Edinburgh's more disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

You can even view video footage of the work that the you team did and the impact that it had....

During the Project

The effect

Recruiting the Team

While out doing their work on the streets of South Edinburgh, the Give Youth a Chance (GYAC) over the period of about a year, youth workers built up relationships with lots of young people hanging around the local area. The idea of doing some voluntary work together as a group was introduced to the young people and was fairly well received but we knew that the project would have to be interesting and relevant to the group to actually get them enthused and commit to the project.

A community flat in the Craigour area of Gilmerton was run down and shabby. As a result few groups used the facility. It was ripe for redevelopment. We did a little advance planning before presenting the idea to the young people.

• What work would we need to do to bring the flat up to a useable standard?
• What materials and resources would be needed and how would we be able to source them?
• What were the timescales?

Having come up with a basic project plan we set about presenting the idea to the group of young people.

When the idea of the community flat was introduced the interest in becoming involved in the project really perked up. The hook was the flat; there were some mistaken expectations by the group that the resulting flat would become a resource for the group, but this was soon dispelled! Regardless they were all still very keen to get involved. Our concern was the unavoidably long project time line and how this would impact on the continued enthusiasm and attendance of the team.

The group of young people that decided to take up the challenge totalled approximately 31. The group was made up of 22 females and 9 males. All were aged between 14 and 16. The numbers differed from week to week depending on who turned up, but there was definitely a core group who would regularly attend.

Trouble

Many of the young people had chosen not to get involved in traditional youth services or had been excluded from them. Some of the young people had a reputation in the local area for their behaviour. Some were often truant from school, and others had been in trouble with the local Police. Because of the groups’ reputation as a whole, the local Tenants Association held mixed views about them redecorating the flat. The head concierge service responsible for the flat was very supportive of the project from the start, believing in the positive benefits of the project on the young people and believing it was a good chance for them to improve their reputation in the area and their relationship with tenants. The project was also seen as a chance for the young people to prove themselves as responsible citizens.

Agreement

Once the group was brought together plans were made with them in how best to take the project forward. This was done in consultation with the workers and the young people. A list was drawn up of the tasks that needed to be carried out and were then categorised into groups. The young people were divided up into smaller group each responsible for a category of tasks (for example, painting and decorating, sourcing materials, catering – they needed to be fed on long days).

On the Job

Throughout the project group members took their responsibilities seriously and carried out the work they had identified. Their sense of responsibility increased as the project went on. In the early stages, the group were very noisy and often unruly. This created management issues for the staff concerned, particularly as the group was rather large and the space in the flat quite small, making for cramped conditions. Respect for the flat itself, the high rise the flat is located in and even tenants was initially poor with residents complaining of the groups’ behaviour in and around the flat. One incident resulted in the group being banned from the flat just before Christmas. However, as the group took responsibility for the flat and for their actions behaviour improved. By the end of the redecoration most of the group were working well and productively together, though some did report that others did not pull their weight in certain pieces of work!

Resourcing

The project had hoped for local businesses to donate some of the materials needed. One sub-group was in charge of sourcing materials, but after repeated attempts of letter writing no local businesses came forward to help out. This was unfortunate as it was hoped that local donations would be the basis of the project. In spite of this, a couple of local charities helped out with furniture, though a change of tack was needed in order to get other materials needed. The group decide they would raise money bag packing at the local Morrison supermarket. Lots of the group helped out and were rewarded with their efforts by raising a mammoth £300. How the money was spent was decided by the group themselves. Although some wanted to spend it on totally unnecessary items, a consensus was agreed and a sub-group went to IKEA to spend the cash on what they had decided.

The group took charge of identifying what equipment they needed, the design aspects and colour schemes. Once these decisions were made work quickly began in pulling it all together and working towards the completion of the flat. Nearly everyone who was involved saw the project through from start to finish, but a few appeared sporadically and some dropped out completely.

First Minister & Lord Laidlaw Visit

The first major milestone was representatives of the larger group met with Lord Laidlaw and Jack McConnell on a visit to Volunteer Centre Edinburgh in January 2005. A brief report of this visit was broadcast on BBC Reporting Scotland that evening. Following this, the South Edinburgh Echo – a local newspaper based in south Edinburgh –featured an article and a photograph of Jack McConnell and the groups’ representatives.

At this meeting Jack McConnell promised he would come back to visit the group once the flat had been completed. Sometime later when the flat was nearing completion, a date was set at the beginning of June for the official opening. Due to the nature of the First Ministers role, he unfortunately had to cancel this visit at the last moment. Despite this it was thought best to carry on with the opening and not let the group down, so plans continued and the official handover of the keys back to the Concierge services took place. Local counsellor Sheila Gilmour attended and presented many of the young people with their first MV Awards.

After this plans were made again to welcome Jack McConnell to the flat. This finally took place in October. Jack McConnell was given a tour of the flat by a selected few of the main group. He was very impressed with the work the group had carried out and was also impressed by the standard of workmanship. Following the tour of the flat, Mr McConnell met more of the group involved and presented further MV Awards to the group members in recognition for their voluntary work. He stayed for about an hour and presented the head of the Concierge Service a plaque commemorating the event and thanking all those who brought the project together. Once again the South Edinburgh Echo reported the visit, this time as a front page spread.

Personal Development

In total 23 young people had volunteered enough of their time to qualify for the first MV Award of 50 hours. Twelve achieved 100 hours for their second award and seven of the highest attendees achieved enough hours for the 200 hour Certificate of Excellence. In total nearly 3000 hours were volunteered by the young people involved.

One major aim of the project was positive personal development of the young people involved. Individuals within the group reported a variety of personal benefits from getting involved, such as it being fun to do, though sometimes the work was dirty and difficult. They enjoyed being able to get involved in a project with their friends and some felt it had brought them closer together. They learnt how to work together with others in a team by problem solving and sharing responsibility of the project in order for it to succeed. They took responsibility of sourcing materials and learnt about project planning. They learnt new practical skills like how to prepare a room for redecorating, how to apply gloss paint and emulsion, how to work a power sander and wallpaper steamer, they learnt the importance of tidying up, and how to work together in teams. It is hoped that the skills they learnt will be transferred to other work and relationships that they develop.

A Better Community

The group of young people that got involved in the project, despite having limited knowledge and understanding of volunteering, have achieved so much by getting involved. Following the success of the flat some of the volunteers have since gone on to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

The flat is a vastly improved space for other community groups to use from how it was before the redecoration took place. It was very run down with most of the rooms feeling cold and uninviting with flaking paint and threadbare flooring. Since the group worked their magic it has been transformed into a space that is highly useable and welcoming. Most of the flat’s walls were stripped of the old wallpaper, relined and painted. Carpets for the rooms were kindly donated by Carpet Right. The sitting room has seen the disposal of knackered plastic chairs and old furniture being replaced with comfy sofas and a makeover that could almost make Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen jealous. The crèche which was a very cold and unfriendly room for children has been changed into a warm space where toddlers now have furniture appropriate to their size, along with donated toys and materials to play with. The office room now has a good desk and chair necessary for an office and has been brightened up considerably.

Gordon Kane, head of the Craigour concierge service, has reported that he is particularly impressed with the young people’s work and since the flat has been redecorated new groups have shown a lot of interest in using the flat for meetings and training sessions.

Arguably, the biggest success for the young people involved in the project was winning the Lord Provost’s Peer Awards in the Youngedinburgh Awards 2006. This award is chosen by independent young people on the judging panel. The reason the project won the award was because the panel were so impressed by the way the young people involved in the community flat had overcome negative stereotypes and for their positive contribution in their local community.

The View from Streetwork....

Streetwork were fortunate to work with Volunteer Centre Edinburgh on a large scale project. Previously we have been able to support individuals in volunteering through our partnership with the Rank Foundation gap scheme. The Volunteer Centre Edinburgh offered an opportunity we couldn’t refuse. They would provide support and experience in maintaining a large scale group over along term process.

The young people we worked with had fallen prey to much bad publicity and public attention in their local area, we needed something that would offer a positive opportunity for both young people and their home community.

The project was to do up a local community flat and improve the environment for the local users. Tenants groups, mother and toddlers and drop in sessions were held in what used to be a ‘dingy’ space. The team worked with Volunteer Centre Edinburgh to set out a plan, who would do what: wallpapering, painting laying carpets, cleaning, fundraising the list is endless.

The support was endless too. Young people were involved in every aspect of the project, some had never been given so much responsibility and the feel good factor of having Lord laidlaw and The First Minister launch the new style flat was amazing.

One young person summed it up in his own words:

“Ah wisnae doing anything at nights, just hanging aboot the flats. The Streetwork said we could dae something. I had never thought I would be daeing up a flat for other folk. It makes you feel good though. I did learn some things...”

Learning Outcomes

With this team the model used was different from the first team. We recruited the team of people first, most of whom knew each other to a lesser or greater degree. We then set about sourcing a local project which had clear relevance to the team.

1. Develop a robust plan

Obvious in retrospect, but do draw up a partnership agreement with all the agencies involved right at the start and stick to it. Although we did have verbal agreements in regard to most roles and responsibilities, issues continually sprang up and were predominantly dealt with in an ad-hoc manner, which was probably not the best, and some of these issues could have been foreseen and prevented with robust planning in place. Agree at the start roles and responsibilities for each partner organisation. Develop a timeline of action points of when jobs would be completed by to ensure the project does not overrun. For example, the group of young people we were working with could be quite unruly and their behaviour could be very challenging. Decide between agencies and within staff who will be responsible to keep order on the ground so the project can progress. If materials are needed for a particularly shift make sure they are in place and ready when needed. This avoids staff having to go off in the middle of shifts to get the items potentially leaving staff shortages. Also, hold progress meetings at regular intervals so any issues can be discussed and solved accordingly. Minute meetings, use action points and make sure action points are followed up. It’s a good idea to designate a staff member from one of the organisation to take responsibility and keep stakeholders informed of the progress on a regular basis. Finally, be flexible and adaptable as things don’t always go the way they are expected to go.

2. Give the volunteers a great experience and a get the most out of your team.

The volunteers’ personal development should be one of the main focuses of why they are volunteering. If people are enjoying themselves they’re more likely to put the work in and therefore get more out of the experience. “It’s boring” is a common phrase heard from young people. Try to make the opportunity one that young people want to be involved in. Consult with them find out what they want to do rather than imposing what you want them to do. Of course, even the most horrible jobs just have to be done. Also consult with the volunteers what roles they want to fulfil during the project. Our group created smaller “task groups” and each person volunteered themselves to a group that interested them. Try, as well, to make even the most boring tasks fun and engaging.

As an outside worker who the young people might not have met before, it’s important for the worker in this situation to get to know the young people on an individual basis – for example, learn their names and use them. This may sound obvious enough, but some people don’t. This really shows the young person that you are interested in them and value them as people and they are more likely to respond respectfully. As an outside worker they don’t know they will probably push you to your limits! Be clear and consistent with expectations of behaviour. Be clear (as in partnership agreement) about who is responsible for keeping control. If external agency is unhappy with the groups’ behaviour discuss this at progress meeting.

It’s also a good idea to insist that young people attend relevant training as part of their volunteer agreement. It gives them opportunities to learn new skills they wouldn’t have otherwise. For example, all the young people in this project said they knew how to decorate and refused training, but the overall work would have been to a better standard had we written it in to their volunteer agreement they attend training.

Finally, offer rewards and incentives such as providing food. The MV Awards are a great way to again recognition of their achievements in volunteering. It takes just 50 hours to get the first certificate.

But above all else make your project fun, interesting, engaging and something that the young people will learn from and something that they enjoy.

1. Introduction
2. Team 1 - Power of 5
3. Team 2 - Streetwise
4. Team 3 - Green Fingers
5. What we Learned
6. Tools / Resources for Team Events