More volunteers needed for Jersey Youth Service

The government said it would be unable to provide the "same variety" of projects without more volunteers

Youth projects in Jersey "urgently" need volunteers, the government said.

Prior to the pandemic, the government had more than 100 volunteers for the Jersey Youth Service, but now had around 25.

The projects support islanders aged nine to 25, and islanders looking to apply must be 18 and over.

Projects people can help with include community projects in each parish, youth inclusion projects and multilingual young people projects.

Mark Capern, interim associate director of Young People's Service's, said it needed more volunteers to keep its services running.

"We're very grateful for the volunteers we have but in order to keep running the way we do, we need more people to come forward," he said.

Minister for Children and Education, Deputy Inna Gardiner, said with fewer volunteers, the government was unable to provide the "same variety" of projects.

She said: "The challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic have meant that the number of available volunteers for the Jersey Youth Service has dropped significantly.

"Volunteering is a wonderful way for all of us to give back to our local community and I would urge islanders to get involved with the Jersey Youth Service if they are able."

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