Last Friday I finished a year of full-time voluntary work with ProjectScotland, a charity that is revolutionising the face of volunteering. My placement has changed my life, as it has done for thousands of others in similar situations, since it began in 2005. And yet the very existence of this groundbreaking organisation is under threat after a decision by the Scottish Government to axe its funding.
ProjectScotland offers full-time placements to 16-25-year-olds in more than 100 non-profit organisations throughout Scotland. It is open to all young Scots regardless of qualifications. Volunteers have their travel expenses and costs of childcare met. They are offered a £55 weekly subsistence allowance and after six months they can apply for a grant of up to £1500 to help them take the next step in their career.
Before ProjectScotland I was unemployed and unemployable. I had left school and gone into a string of uninspiring, menial jobs and ended up, inevitably, on the dole.
Being unemployed was immensely depressing, especially without any kind of drug addiction or petty crime with which to fill my days. I thought it was an achievement if I was up in time for Countdown. If I made it up in time for the Jeremy Kyle Show then I deserved a knighthood, or at least a Blue Peter badge. The future was an abyss that was best ignored. I was what the government would have referred to, at the time, as a Neet (Not in Education, Employment or Training), or what my friends and relatives would have referred to as a workshy bum.
I was in dire need of a change and ProjectScotland was the only option that appealed to me at all. I didn't have to sign up for four years studying something I'd probably hate after a week, nor did I have to sell my soul to some faceless corporation.
I secured a placement within the ProjectScotland office. As a member of the marketing team I was the editor of its monthly newsletter The VoluntEar. This gave me the chance to gain some experience in writing copy, interview techniques, working to deadlines and reviewing films.
But that was only the beginning. There was nothing in the placement description about running focus groups throughout the country and in-house creative-writing workshops. Or about giving a presentation to a gym hall full of restless sixth years at nine in the morning. And I'm pretty damn sure there was nothing in that placement description about travelling the country dressed as Superman. In fact, had these been mentioned at my initial meeting at ProjectScotland, I would probably have turned the opportunity down. It was the gradual growth of confidence throughout my placement which gave me the courage to perform these tasks.
What I've gained during my year at ProjectScotland is hard to sum up. I've discovered a love of writing which I plan to put to good use. I am infinitely more employable, and I actually want to work. On a personal level I am filled with a confidence that borders on bravado, and I'm much less cynical. Today, I am very far from that shy, unkempt teenager who nervously stepped through those doors little more than a year ago.
My story is not unique, within the context of ProjectScotland. I was especially lucky as from that office I had an overview of the difference it is making throughout the country. There are thousands of other young people who, coming from far worse situations than myself, are going on to achieve great success. Once you consider all the charities whose causes have been immensely advanced by these volunteers, not to mention the families of volunteers who no longer have to worry about their child's prospects, only then does the true impact of ProjectScotland begin to become apparent.
So it is, I hope, understandable that I fail to see the logic behind our government's decision to cease funding ProjectScotland. If anyone would care to offer an explanation, something the government has been unable to do so far, then I am all ears.
Although the outlook may be bleak, I believe in ProjectScotland. The staff are awe-inspiring in their commitment and dedication. Regardless of government backing, it will struggle on, all be it in a somewhat emasculated form. I hope the men and women with the power to save such an exciting organisation will not let politics get in the way of doing the right thing. But most of all, I hope that if, one day, my own children turn to me for advice, I won't to have to say: "I am where I am today because of ProjectScotland, a brilliant idea that made a difference but which was destroyed by the petty games of politicians. Oh, and if you're going to sign on, you'd better hurry up, because that queue keeps getting longer and longer."
Calum MacLeod
1 February 2008
