Volunteering gives you the chance to make a difference to people’s lives and use your skills and experience to help your local community. It gives you the opportunity to become involved in a project or with an organisation that you care about. This can be any service to individuals or the community, e.g. helping older people with new technology or supporting young people with disabilities to be more active.
Services for Young People (SfYP) is the licensed organisation (LO) for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE) in Hertfordshire. This licence allows schools, learning establishments and youth projects to deliver DofE programmes to young people under our licence.
What is the Duke of Edinburgh's Award?
Anyone aged between 14 and 24 can do a DofE programme at one of the three progressive levels which, when successfully completed, leads to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
The Bronze and Silver levels both consist of four sections, with an additional fifth section (Residential) introduced at the Gold level.
The five sections are:
Physical
Physical activity is fun and it improves your health and physical fitness. This section can be about improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities.
Skills
Developing a skill helps you get better at something you are interested in and gives you confidence and ability to use the skill both now and later in life. This can be developing any practical and social skill or your personal interests - things that you may already be doing!
Expedition
Planning and going on an expedition gives you the chance to have an adventure, work as a team, and act on your own initiative.
Residential
Gold participants must complete a fifth Residential section which involves staying away from home whilst taking part in a shared activity. This gives you the chance to learn how to work with people from different backgrounds and build confidence living in new environments.
Where can you do your Duke of Edinburgh's Award?
Services for Young People supports Hertfordshire schools and other educational establishments to offer the DofE to their students. If your school offers the DofE, this is likely to be the most suitable way for you to enrol.
If your school is not able to offer you the opportunity to enrol, you could enrol through a group such as the scouts, guides or cadets.
For more information please contact the SfYP DofE Team:
- [email protected]
- 01992 588225
Duke of Edinburgh's Award national website
More information about the DofE can be found on the Duke of Edinburgh's Award national website: www.dofe.org.
