Government has launched an initiative to increase the number of active volunteers who support and participate in its programmes.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith, speaking at the recent launch of the Volunteer Connect Programme at the Wildey Gymnasium, Wildey, St. Michael, stated that with this initiative, his Ministry would now be able to staff some of its summer camps to impact on the lives of young people.
Mr. Griffith continued: “We have World Cup coming here in June of this year, and it will be a massive task in terms of having persons to come on board to volunteer, to assist and make the World Cup in Barbados the best that it has ever been.”
The Minister noted that there are also other programmes that could benefit from this initiative and urged the volunteers to help with mentoring the younger generation.
“There are a number of sporting events that will be on the calendar here this year that you can get involved in…. And I see…all of you filling that void in our Mentorship Programme. There’s a need for persons and individuals like you…to be involved in that particular programme to help guide some of our youngsters, and as long as you’re 21 and over, I believe that you can get involved in that Mentorship Programme,” he said.
Some programmes within the Ministry’s purview that require volunteers include: the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme; the Barbados YouthAdvance Corps; the Youth Development Programme; the Next Steps Training Initiative; the National Summer Camp Programme; Youth Achieving Results; and the Employability Programme.
The Volunteer Connect Programme seeks to harness the country’s human resources while creating an avenue for persons who want to give of their time in a meaningful way, through promotion and support of volunteerism. (PR/GIS)
