What do we need? FLEXIBILITY - As youth we have many demands and pressure on us that we can sometimes find it hard to make time for extra commitments. We have hundreds of different things we can do with our free time and volunteering has to complete with this. So what we really want is to have choice and spontaneity in volunteering.

How about more LEGITIMACY? This is a widespreed need. We desperately need better education from an early age about the significance and importance of volunteering to create a more positive image of it. While many of us would really like to volunteer and take part in the community there are still negative stereotypes out there we have to fight from peers. This peer-pressure can make it really hard for us to get involved so the word needs to be spread that volunteering is 'fun, normal and cool!'

What do we want? EXPERIENCE - High on the wish-list for us is experience. We want rewarding, interesting and relevant volunteering opportunities which will help progress our personal and career development. We want to learn new skills, take on challenges, explore different careers and to get work experience.

We need EASE of access to volunteering... It can still be quite hard for youth to find out about volunteering. We need more information, more encouragement and easy access points to help us take the next step into volunteering.

INCENTIVES would be great! As there is so much out there competiting for our time and attention sometimes an incentive can tip us into involvement. The best incentive when it comes to volunteering is in the form of a reference or qualification to validate our experience and demonstate our achievement to employers and others.

We like...VARIETY - To keep us interested and so there is something for everyone we need variety in volunteering. Variety in the types of work, issues, level of responsibilty and structures accommodates the huge range of individual interests, goals, constraints and preferences that we have.

We love to LAUGH! Volunteering for us should be enjoyable, satisfying and most importantly, fun!!

It feels good to be  APRECIATED AND SUPPORTED - Like everybody else, youth like to feel appreciated and be given support and the right kind of advice. We don't like to be over-organised and heavily supervised but to have people  who can support us when we need it and help us progress when we are ready. We also like to work in an efficient but informal and relaxed environment where we valued and welcomed.