Volunteer opportunity

WorldWide Volunteering (WWV) is a charity with an online database of volunteering opportunities that is available to schools and colleges.

The database has 350,000 volunteer posts in 215 countries including the UK. It enables people of all ages to quickly search through placements offered by over 1,200 organisations and produce a tailored list to suit their own requirements.

The charity also has staff who will come into schools and colleges to help set up volunteer programmes and talk to young people about the value of volunteering.

For instance, one of WWV's project managers, Josie Clarke, helped Nick Charlesworth, the head of sixth form at Highgate Wood School in Haringey, to set up a 'volunteering month' for students as part of their A level studies. Josie led a series of workshops, helped students decide what kind of volunteer work to do and was involved in matching them with local placements.

About 640 schools, colleges and universities are already using the database. It is also mentioned on the Volunteer England website and is a resource on the government's Curriculum Online for citizenship.

To find out more about WorldWide Volunteering and the services it offers, visit the website at www.wwv.org.uk