Lincolnshire’s High Sheriff Awards Volunteers and Members of IGNITE with LVC Certificates
VANEL’s IGNITE team, along with Uniformed Services students from the Grimsby Institute, were today presented with their Lincolnshire Volunteer Card (LVC) certificates by the High Sheriff of Lincolnshire at a presentation event in The Gallery on the college campus.
Uniformed Services students at Grimsby Institute started working with IGNITE as part of their course back in September. The purpose of this was to encourage the students to take an interest in, and get involved with, volunteering and social action projects. As part of this, several of the students took part in VANEL’s Lincolnshire Volunteer Card training. The LVC is a training course which allows volunteers, and people interested in becoming volunteers, to learn more about volunteering. Today’s event was to celebrate the students LVC success, and recognise the community work that they have so far been involved with.
Front Row L-R: Paul Brackenbury, Jasmin Flint, Victoria Russell, Lisa Anderson, Lincolnshire’s High Sheriff Jill Hughes, Helen Pickett, Jenny Hodson.
Back Row L – R : Damien Peck, Jack Kelly, Joshua Cox, Lachlan Thain, Chris Luckman, Rhonda Herle and Tony Vidal.
Uniformed Services Programme Leader Tony Vidal said: “We started working with VANEL in September, and since then our relationship with the organisation, and IGNITE has continued to grow and flourish. We have reached a point now where our students are coming up with, and designing, their own social action projects. Today’s event is really the fruition of that. Our very first IGNITE event was a five-a-side football tournament in aid of The Teenage Cancer Trust, the next was a fundraising balloon release to raise Money for the Laurel Ward at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital to purchase memory boxes for bereaved parents. The students are now working towards creating a graffiti club for young people, and organising a Battle of the Bands event which will take place on the 31st March. From where we started to where we are now, we can see that the foundations for the future have now been laid”.
Uniformed Services students Joshua Cox, Lachlan Thain, Jack Kelly and Damien Peck were presented with their LVC certificates by The High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, Jill Hughes. Fellow students, Jack Goodhand and Kyran Forrester also completed their LVC training but were unable to attend.
Before the Presentation. Programme Leader Tony Vidal with his Uniformed Services Students.
After receiving his LVC card and certificate, Joshua Cox said: “I really enjoyed taking part in the LVC training and I think it will help me when it comes to applying for volunteer roles in the future. I have in the past volunteered at St Andrew’s Hospice and helped renovate the garden there”. Next year Joshua hopes to study Forensic Science at University, and from there, work his way up within the Police force.
Lachlan Thain said: “Taking part in VANEL’s LVC training was really enjoyable. I think will really help me when it comes to taking part in other volunteer roles within Grimsby.” After completing his course at the Grimsby Institute, Lachlan intends to join the Army. He is currently working with IGNITE and helping to organise a carnival which will take place in May at Grimsby Rugby Club. Keep your eyes peeled on here, as well as on our Facebook and Twitter pages for more information about this.
Talking about the work IGNITE has been doing with staff and Uniformed Services students at the college, IGNITE Youth Leadership Manager Jenny Hodson said: “This has really been a successful partnership and the work that the students have been involved with so far has been wonderful. Credit to the students, Tony, and the college for allowing this course to change and develop the way it has done. They have shown that young people can and want to develop new things for themselves and other young people in their community”.
Youth Leadership Worker’s Victoria Russell, Lisa Anderson, Youth Leadership Mentor Chris Luckman and Communication Assistant Helen Pickett, also received their LVC cards and certificates, along with Jasmin Flint from Springboard. Jasmine and the IGNITE team completed their LVC training over the course six weeks at the VANEL office at the end of Last year.
Jasmin from Springboard said: “Today’s event has been really inspirational and I have really enjoyed meeting the young people from Uniformed Services who also completed the training. I found the training really useful and it has made me consider becoming a volunteer again in the future”.