about the young volunteers scheme
The Young Volunteers Scheme is organised through the Age Friendly Island initiative. Age Friendly Island is an exciting partnership funded by the BIG Lottery Fund, with the aim of making the Isle of Wight a great place to grow old whilst tackling social isolation. Currently 24% of people living on the Isle of Wight are over 65 and by 2021 this is expected to rise to 28% - meaning the Island has more older adults than school aged children. Age Friendly Island will play a key role in planning for the needs of this growing older population. Our vision for an Age Friendly Island is one where policies, services and structures related to the physical and social environment are designed to help and support older people to 'age actively', enabling them to live safely, enjoy good health and stay locally involved. Led by Age UK IW, Age Friendly Island is a partnership of 11 organisations committed to building an Island which values, respects, engages and actively supports older people, with the voice of older residents at its heart.
If you feel able to donate your time to helping us make a real difference in the lives of people 50 years and older we would love to hear from you. Our Volunteers tell us what they want to do, when they want to do it, how often they want to do it and always have the right to say no. We are always in need of good volunteers across the whole organisation. There is also the chance to make new friends and your intervention helps to reduce feelings of isolation, exclusion and loneliness.