We're celebrating Youth Work Week 2025 and all the amazing opportunities youth work offers young people. Here, young volunteer Aiden and youth worker Ryan share their experiences.
We want East Lothian to be somewhere that all young people feel safe, heard and included. Youth work is an essential part of making this happen
For Aiden Uy, volunteering with Recharge in Tranent has helped him to realise that he is more resilient and capable than he thought. “Volunteering has shown me that I can adapt to new situations and handle challenges with a positive attitude. It’s also made me realise how much I enjoy helping others and being part of a team.”
Aiden is one of Recharge’s Young Formers, taking part in the organisation’s youth forum to discuss and highlight local issues that young people are facing and helping to find solutions to problems.
Representatives and advocates
They act as representatives and advocates for other young people, recently presenting to Fa’side Area Partnership on what it is like to be a young person in Fa’side and issues in the community. They’ve supported P7 to S1 transition events, organised fundraisers and planned projects that make a difference for their area. And they’ve had fun doing it!
“Volunteering has really helped me develop confidence and communication skills,” explains Aiden. “I’ve learned how to work with different people, take initiative, and feel more comfortable stepping out of my comfort zone. It’s also been rewarding to know that my time and effort are making a difference in the community.”
Young people are more than capable
It’s not just Aiden that has learned new things, Recharge’s Ryan Moir believes his horizons have also expanded from working with the young volunteers. “I have learnt loads from them, mainly what young people terms like ‘6-7’, ‘cooked’ and ‘Unc’ mean! In all seriousness, young people are very knowledgeable about their communities, what life is like as a young person today, and they have amazing ideas for how to improve their communities,” he says.
“I have learnt to trust young people to make decisions and follow through with their ideas, as they are more than capable.”
Power to influence decisions
Recharge is keen to offer volunteering opportunities for young people in youth forums to show they can make a difference in their communities. “Young people have a lot of insight on issues people are facing in the community which adult decision makers might not have considered. They are also more creative than adults and can come up with innovative solutions to some of the issues they are raising," explains Ryan. “It is important to empower young people to be confident in sharing their views and ideas, and to show them that they do have power to influence decisions and have a positive impact on their community.”
Not only do the young volunteer-led projects allow the group to feel more valued and respected in their communities, and to care more for it, it builds their skills and experiences offering something that will support future careers.
Safe, heard and included
It’s this mix of perspectives that makes youth work so powerful, says East Lothian Council’s Cabinet member for Community Wellbeing Councillor Colin McGinn: “Recharge and its Young Formers are brilliant examples of the positive impact of youth work. They offer young people a chance to be seen and listened to, gain new experiences and perspectives, and creates strong bonds within communities.
"We want East Lothian to be somewhere that all young people feel safe, heard and included. Youth work is an essential part of making this happen.”