A novel way to get over any ‘surprises’ on A-level results day (Thursday 17 August) is to sign up for a gap year with CSV, the UK’s largest volunteering charity. CSV gap years are a great way of gaining valuable CV building skills and are ideal for young people looking to take a break from education or not yet ready to enter the world of work. They also give time to re-plan after disappointing of exceptionally good results.

CSV offers UK based gap years lasting 4-12 months for free. Volunteers live away from home and are provided with free accommodation, food and travel expenses, plus a weekly living allowance. (1) CSV volunteers support young offenders, homeless people and adults with learning difficulties as well as helping people with physical disabilities lead independent lives.

Volunteering with CSV is also an affordable alternative to expensive gap years which can cost on average £2,000 - £5,000.(2) Barbara Williams, CSV Director for gap year volunteering says: “We believe that everyone, no matter their financial position, should have the opportunity to broaden their horizons and boost their career prospects by taking a gap-year. However, the burden of rising university costs may put off some young people from volunteering full-time. Some organisations even ask for volunteers to raise up to £3,000 towards the cost of the project. CSV volunteers are not charged a penny and get a living allowance, accommodation and food costs provided.”

A gap year is a great way of building up skills essential to the workplace and research by CSV (3) finds that 79% of members from the Association of Graduate Recruiters believe graduates who possess skills gained through volunteering progress through a company more quickly.

Emma Yap, aged 20 and from Hampshire, volunteers with CSV to support children with Cerebral Palsy in Cardiff.

“I volunteer at a school in Cardiff that supports children with Cerebral Palsy. I help with manual handling, feeding the children, personal care and giving one to one supervision in classrooms. I chose to become a CSV because I didn’t feel ready enough to go straight from college to university and also I want to become a social worker.

“There is no experience like being a CSV. I am about to leave my project with some of the best possible friends you could ever make. I hope that other people will realise that this experience is well worth doing and will change your life for the better. If I had to live my past year again I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Stewart Ward, aged 19 from Crawley, West Sussex, volunteered with CSV for 9 months before beginning a degree in Sociology at the University of Essex.

“I volunteered at the University of Bradford and supported several disabled students study for their degrees. My main tasks were helping them take lecture notes and make their way around campus.

“In many ways even though I stayed in the UK, my gap year did offer me an international experience. Bradford is far more multi-cultural than Crawley and many of the students on campus are international. I learnt a lot about other people’s beliefs and seeing how some cultural differences clash and others merge together. I remember initially putting East Asian students into the same category and later realising that many were from different countries or spoke different forms of Chinese.”

Fiona McDonald aged 19 and from Scarborough volunteered with CSV at Carers support in Bexley, Kent where she helped provide respite to carers of people with disabilities.

“I provide respite care in the home and emotional support for carers of people with physical and learning disabilities. In a typical week I might support 5 families and give the carers a much needed break. What we do depends on the clients. If we look after children we might take them swimming or to the cinema. For older people we will just go round and chat to keep them company.

I have really enjoyed my time volunteering and I have loved living away from home. I have worked with so many international people and would like to spend another gap year travelling and meeting up with them before going off to university. Doing my gap year with CSV also gave me loads of confidence and really improved my people skills, I find it much easier to talk to people now.”

For volunteer information and an application pack about gap year volunteering for people aged 16+ call 0800 374 991 or visit the website www.csv.org.uk/gapyear to apply online.

For further press information: Paul Donohoe 020 7812 0037/0779 624 385 pdonohoe@csv.org.ukor Jason Tanner 020 7812 0038 / 07941 433598 jtanner@csv.org.uk.

Notes for Editors

1. www.the-backpacking-site.com

2. Volunteers can start their 4-12 month placement at any time during the year. Full-time volunteers must be 16+. There is no upper age limit. Volunteers could be given the opportunity to work on exciting projects with homeless people, refugees, socially excluded young people, disabled people and the elderly. Each full-time away from home volunteer receives a £31weekly allowance and an additional £37.60 per week to spend on food (if meals are not included). They also receive free accommodation at their project and all out of pocket expenses are paid.

3. CSV Reports on Time Well Spent, August 2000, page 2. (89 companies from the 450 members of the Association of Graduate Recruiters responded to a CSV survey in July 2000.)

4. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Each year 195,000 people give 4.9 million hours of their time as volunteers through CSV. www.csv.org.uk