Raleigh International launches grant to help young people volunteer abroad

Oct. 18, 2011 - PRLog -- Raleigh International is offering a grant to 17 to 24 year olds to help cover the cost of volunteering abroad in a bid to encourage them to improve their skills and job prospects. The grant, known as the Global Discovery Grant, is available to any young person who can clearly demonstrate how they will benefit from joining a Raleigh International expedition.

The youth and sustainable development charity launched the Global Discovery Grant to give more young people the opportunity to develop skills that are valued by employers by volunteering abroad on worthwhile projects. With youth unemployment reaching almost one million and recruiters claiming that graduate skills are not good enough for the workplace, it is more important now than ever that young people find a way to make them stand out from the crowd.

Stacey Adams, Raleigh International’s Chief Executive commented: “By joining a 10 week expedition with us, young people learn how to work in cross-cultural teams, communicate more effectively and their confidence and self-awareness improves immensely. The expeditions that we run can help bridge the gap between education and work and equip young people with the skills that employers are looking for.”

Richard Reed, Co-founder of Innocent Drinks confirmed this: "When we see on someone's CV that they've worked with Raleigh International, we always get more interested. The people at Innocent who have previously done Raleigh expeditions have greater confidence, enthusiasm and a belief in what can be achieved that motivates both themselves and others around them."

Veronica Apaloo volunteered with Raleigh International last year after she graduated and was unable to find work. She said: "I've now started working as a graphic designer in Blackburn. I have to work with different clients and customers everyday and work towards several different deadlines simultaneously. If I hadn’t done Raleigh I wouldn't have learnt how to work with others - I have found that my people skills have improved dramatically, and I was able to demonstrate this to my employer, by having Raleigh on my CV."

The Global Discovery Grant is open to young people on a first come, first served basis and is available for expeditions departing in Spring 2012 to India, Borneo and Costa Rica. In order to be considered for this grant, which forms one third of the cost of an expedition, applicants will need to demonstrate an understanding of Raleigh International and how they will develop on expedition. The deadline for applications is Monday 14th November 2011

# # #

Raleigh International is a youth and sustainable development charity. It runs expeditions abroad for people from a wide range of backgrounds, nationalities and life stages. Raleigh’s aim is to increase the leadership and employability skills of participants whilst also raising their awareness of their role as active global citizens. Since Raleigh was established in 1984, the charity has supported more than 35,000 people through its expeditions.