How a young volunteer inspired the Youth Bursary

As we eagerly await 2019 applications for our annual Youth Bursary, let’s take you back to 2010, when a young medical student (and dedicated Royal Voluntary Service volunteer) contacted us to see if we could help fund an amazing opportunity for her to experience working with the Flying Doctor Service in Australia.

The power of radio

It all started when Gilli Galloway, one of our Trustees, was interviewed on BBC Radio Norfolk about the charitable work of the trust, and the grants we offer to Royal Voluntary Service staff and volunteers who are in need due to financial hardship or crisis. A young lady happened to tune in to the radio show that day and hear Gilli’s interview.

At the time, she was studying to be a doctor at Imperial College in London and had been offered a placement with the medical service in rural Australia; but she was struggling to fund the trip and was in danger of missing out on this fantastic opportunity. Hearing Gilli’s interview about the grants offered by the trust, she wondered whether we could help fund her trip, and got in touch.

This young lady had been a Royal Voluntary Service volunteer at the hospital near her home in Norwich while studying at sixth form, and she still volunteered there whenever she was back home from her studies in London. Here at the benevolent trust, we were keen to support a dedicated young volunteer like her in pursuing such a wonderful opportunity, and we were delighted to help fund her placement in Australia.

The Youth Bursary was born

After hearing all about this amazing experience in Australia through the letters and photos she sent us, we wanted to encourage more young volunteers to take part in opportunities which will benefit their personal development and future career, and we formally set up the Youth Bursary in 2011.

We have since awarded bursaries to many young volunteers, and we really look forward to receiving applications every year and funding new, exciting opportunities. Since this first placement in Australia, we’ve helped young volunteers fund trips all over the world to faraway places such as Jamaica, Nicaragua, Japan, India and Africa.

You can read more about some of the amazing experiences we’ve funded here: Youth Bursary Awards – The Amazing Experiences Awaiting You!

Could an award help you?

If you have an opportunity you wish to pursue in 2019, our Youth Bursary could award you up to £2,000 to help make it happen!

  • Are you 16-25 years old?
  • Have you volunteered regularly (50+ hours) for the Royal Voluntary Service in the last calendar year?

If so, you’re eligible to apply. So what are you waiting for?

If you haven’t quite clocked up enough voluntary hours yet you have until the end of February 2019 to do so. Or if you’re yet to volunteer, you can search the Royal Voluntary Service website to find volunteering opportunities near you.

Applications now open

Applications for our 2019 Youth Bursary Awards are now open, and need to be submitted to us by the first week of March 2019. We will review all applications at our Board meeting in March and let you know if your application has been successful just as soon as we can.

When you’re ready to apply, you can download the Youth Bursary Application here. We’re still old school here at the trust, so you will have to print the application out and fill it in, but we’re sure you’ll agree that it will be well worth the effort when you’re packing for your adventure 🙂

Still not sure?

If you have any questions, we may have already answered them for you in our Top Tips On Completing Your Application. If not please call us on 07968 098275 and leave a message and we’ll get back to you just as soon as we can.

If you’re not eligible for a Youth Bursary, perhaps you know someone who is? Maybe your son or daughter is hoping to go on a work placement at University, or learn a new skill to secure their dream job? Please point them in our direction and tell them about our Youth Bursary.

We want to encourage and support as many young volunteers as possible by funding their adventure. Help us spread the word!