MADAM - It seems we are being bombarded by stories about how society is becoming less tolerant at the moment, but it’s not all bad news. There’s a new generation coming through who are flying the flag for equality and diversity.

Each year we celebrate National Student Volunteering Week and I’d like to tell your readers about our fantastic student volunteers who are really showing the rest of us the way forward.

I work for Revitalise, an amazing national charity that provides respite holidays for disabled people and carers. We rely on the contribution of volunteers – the majority of whom are young people and students - to keep on doing what we do.

We did a study of our student volunteers and found some amazing things. Well over nine out of ten said that volunteering for Revitalise had made them more aware and welcoming of diversity and the many differences between people that make for a healthy society. What’s more, nine out of ten also said it had inspired them to play a more active part in their local communities.

Clearly the current generation of young people have a thing or two to teach the rest of us when it comes to making the world a better place!

Volunteering provides a much-needed career boost for young people too. 84% of our 16-25 year old volunteers said volunteering with Revitalise had improved their prospects of gaining paid employment. Nothing looks better on a CV than a spell of volunteering for a worthy cause!

So I would like to invite your readers to join our wonderful volunteers and help our disabled guests enjoy their well-deserved holidays. No matter how much time you have to spare - the odd day, a week or two, or even a few months - there’s so much to gain!

For more information call 0303 303 0147 or visit revitalise.org.uk

Colin Brook

Revitalise

revitalise.org.uk