To be a volunteer at Activenture takes a very special type of person. 25 JAGS girls, mostly from Year 10 with a handful from Year 11, spent Saturday in the capable hands of Les Pond together with Lesley and Di, three stalwart professionals from Activenture, on a training day here that gave them a generous taste of what the role involves.

Activenture, run by London Youth, organises residential adventure weeks for young people with disabilities and special needs (ages 8-18 years) throughout the school holidays. It’s a fantastic way for volunteers to meet others and to make new friends while giving the guests an experience they will remember. They stay at Hindleap Warren Outdoor Education Centre, high in the Ashdown Forest, set in 300 acres of natural woodland, or at the atmospheric Woodrow High House, a 350 year old house deep in the Chiltern Hills near Amersham in Buckinghamshire.

There were lots of questions of course. The Induction Day is designed to address all the practical issues and natural concerns.  By the time the day had finished Les, Lesley and Di had taught the group basic wheelchair handling including some nifty manoeuvres up and down steps, communication skills including signing, and disability awareness.  The group knows roughly what to expect, and also to expect the unexpected! Now it’s up to them to apply to become one of the hundreds of special young people who are committed to giving their time and energy to help others.

Lots of JAGS girls have spent a week at the centres. Y13s Jenny Lanigan and Freddie Onslow said it was a brilliantly rewarding experience.  “Just be ready to accept the intensity,” they cautioned. “You’re with your ‘guests’ 24/7 so you really get to know their needs – and perhaps find out something more about yourself.”

www.activenture.org

25 September, 2010