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Fill the Gap! Take a free UK Gap Year with CSV.
Current CSV Full Time Volunteers at a recent volunteer event
With exams underway and students looking into their options after school or university, we focus this month on gap year opportunities with CSV.
While some people spend their gap year backpacking, volunteering abroad or even topping up their tan, Full Time Volunteers with CSV can enjoy an entirely free gap year in the UK. Volunteers gain valuable experience and skills which can enhance their university or employment applications and help them stand out from the crowd. Opportunities include supporting adults or children with physical disabilities or learning disabilities, mentoring young people at risk of offending or exclusion from education, or helping those who are homeless.
CSV has been organising Full Time Volunteering throughout the UK for almost 50 years. Volunteers are not required to have any previous experience or qualifications, just energy, enthusiasm and commitment. Staying in the UK doesn't mean missing out on an international experience either as CSV works with international partners to host volunteers from other countries such as Germany, Japan, Colombia and the USA.
Every year hundreds of people decide to take their gap year with CSV and below we hear from one:
 Amy Cushnie, 20 from Lincolnshire was a CSV Full Time Volunteer at a project in Essex, supporting adults with learning disabilities.
"After I finished my A Levels I wanted to do something completely different, gain some new experiences and live somewhere completely new. I was offered a nine month placement in Essex providing support with daily activities at a home for adults with learning disabilities. This could be supporting them in making decisions, such as what to wear or to eat or where to go for the day. It gave me lots of experience with people who communicate in a different way as all four people who lived in the house where I volunteered couldn't communicate with speech and instead they used other ways such as Makaton and pointing.
"Volunteering gave me a chance to breathe and grow up before stepping in university life and studying"
I learnt a lot about myself during my gap year and how to live in the normal world, away from parents. I gained a lot of patience and was able to develop skills such as communication and creativity. Volunteering gave me a chance to live away from the stresses of academia and realise that I wanted to go to university for the right reasons.
Volunteering gave me a chance to breathe and grow up before stepping in university life and studying. CSV was a great opportunity, especially as it's open to people from all walks of life. It is also good to meet volunteers from all around the world and live in a different place. I am from a small rural town in the north, so living in London gave a chance I might not get again but really enjoyed." |
Could you be a CSV Full Time Volunteer?
We need volunteers to start now and throughout the year. Our volunteers are aged between 16-35 and volunteer away from home in the UK for a period of 4-12 months.
Volunteers receive:
• Accommodation
• Subsistence (which includes food and money to live on)
• Support from CSV
• A certificate at the end of the placement
How to apply to be a CSV Volunteer
If you or someone you know would be interested in taking a gap year with CSV or is available for a minimum of 4 months please contact us on the number below. Alternatively click here to apply online. Please quote 'BTNMAY' when contacting us.
0800 374 991
volunteer@csv.org.uk
csv.org.uk/gapyear
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CSV volunteers tell us about their Gap Year experiences
• Victoria Clarke, from Northampton, volunteered with CSV before going to university.
Victoria says: “I undertook a six month placement with CSV supporting people with learning difficulties, epilepsy and autism. It was a real eye-opener and hugely rewarding experience. When I left, I applied to do a degree in Education and Disability. I carried on volunteering at university and have now secured a job working as a PA for the Arts Manager at a disability charity.
“The volunteering I did showed I had commitment and initiative and made me confident in working around people with disabilities which gave me an edge when applying for jobs. It was also essential in building up my self esteem and finding a focus in my life when I needed it.”
• David Deanie, from Glasgow, volunteered after leaving school and supported young people with learning disabilities to be able to volunteer themselves.
David says: "For the first time in my life I lived away from home, and I gained valuable life experiences. I also received a lot of training which strengthened my CV and employability...being a volunteer helped me develop confidence in my abilities and encouraging me to start up my own business"
• David Fowles, from Leeds, volunteered after university at a secondary school for students with special needs.
David says "When I left university the one thing I said I would never do is become a teacher, because my mum was a teacher and I know the challenges she faced. But volunteering with CSV actually made me want to become a teacher because I enjoyed interacting with the students. It was very fulfilling."
Victoria Clarke and David Deanie both feature in an article that appeared in the Mirror Online Read the article
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