Media releases > Volunteer host families needed

Can you help international volunteers?

This October nine British and nine Indonesian volunteers aged between 18 and 25 arrive in Birmingham to begin an exciting 6-month international youth exchange called World Youth. For 12 weeks they will spend 6,500 hours engaged in voluntary work on local community projects in Birmingham while living with local families before heading off to Indonesia for a further 12 weeks. 

World Youth is looking for people to host the volunteers during their time in Birmingham. Host families will receive a weekly allowance to cover costs and two Project Supervisors will be on hand to offer support. It is a great opportunity to learn about another culture as well as supporting the Birmingham community in providing them with a welcoming home for their short stay. Enquiries from all sections of the community are welcome. 

The World Youth Programme is a cross-cultural exchange programme run by VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) in partnership with CSV (Community Service Volunteers) and the British Council. The programme aims to build active global citizens in the UK, Africa and Asia. It works with young people to foster positive attitudes to diversity, understand global realities and promote volunteering and community action. 

Volunteers will work on projects ranging from supporting people with learning difficulties on independence projects to organising one-off events such as a ‘Faiths Next Door’ evening. If your community group needs support workers, please contact the Caroline Davies at World Youth on 07989 512 938. 

One previous volunteer said,

I think about my VSO experience very often. It was possibly the toughest thing I’ve done in my life so far but it has taught me an immeasurable amount about myself, my culture and the world around me. I am still continuing to learn and reflect on the experience but I can say that I like who I have become as a result of it all.

If you can help or would like further information please contact Caroline Davies at World Youth on 07989 512 938, email caroline.davies@vso.org.uk or write to Caroline c/o CSV, Scala House, 36 Holloway Circus, Queensway, Birmingham B1 1EQ 

For more press information please contact Abigail Fulbrook on +44 (0)208 780 7292 or abigail.fulbrook@vso.org.uk

Editors' notes

• VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers. Our vision is a world without poverty in which people work together to fulfil their potential. We bring people together to share skills, creativity and learning to build a fairer world.
• VSO’s partnership with British Council is with their Connecting Futures programme, an initiative, which aims to build mutual understanding, learning and respect between young people with different cultural backgrounds in the UK and other countries. See www.connectingfutures.com 
• CSV creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their community. Since 1962, CSV has been the UK’s most exciting organisation for involving and training volunteers and trainees in their communities. CSV passionately believes that everyone has something to offer. Everyone can make a difference. Press contact: Jason Tanner, +44 (0)20 7643 1428, e-mail: jtanner@csv.org.uk