Red Cross Blogs

Hurray for International Youth Day

By Mark Cox
August 11, 2011 at 4:49 pm

Weirdly, for an organisation that’s knocking on 141 years old, the British Red Cross seems to be getting younger. Which is fitting, in its own way, because tomorrow – 12 August – is International Youth Day.

You probably won’t know this, but half the volunteer base of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) worldwide is now made up of young people. That amounts to 6.5 million – yes, 6.5 million – young humanitarians in our global Movement.

And here in the UK, almost a fifth of Red Cross volunteers (6,000 of them) are under 26 years old. As a group, they make a huge contribution – and blow out of the water that hoary old cliché about charity work being the preserve of respectable, middle-aged ladies.

In the past year alone (which also, incidentally, marked the UN International Year of Youth), young volunteers helped with the Red Cross’ mammoth response to the heavy winter snows, featured in the Red Cross’ Humanitarian Citizen Awards, organised a national youth conference and launched a new leadership programme for young volunteers.

And last November, 13 ambitious young volunteers even staged a coup and stormed the senior management team meeting at Red Cross HQ, seizing the reins of power. (Don’t worry, though. The temporary coup d’etat was all part of Takeover Day, an annual event where young people across the country get a chance to try their hand at running things.)

Many young volunteers say they joined the Red Cross because it has such a humungous choice of services, particularly for young people. So whether your interest is first aid, fundraising, responding to emergencies or helping refugees, there will be something for you.

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Tags: First aid, volunteer, Volunteering, volunteers, young people

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