Yateley Red Cross Peer Educators   www.yrx.org.uk

Peer Educators are young volunteers (aged 15 and above)  who have trained to teach people of their own age (peers) on one of many programmes; examples include Babysitting and First Aid.  This means that there is never a shortage of people to be trained.  There is a fascinating website produced by and for Red Cross Peer Educators.

Peer Educators have to be very versatile people who need to be able to teach anyone anywhere: from teaching a class of students at a school to teaching your friends on the street during road safety shows.

Peer Educators need to do a weekend course on Peer Educating to acquire the necessary skills.  Peer Educators need at least a Practical First Aid Certificate (the two-day course), but most have the Standard (four-day) Certificate.  "Play Days" are also arranged to ensure that their peer-educating skills are as good as they can be.

Lots of resources are available to peer educators to give them ideas for their teaching and equipment for them to use.

As a young volunteer, there are no set hours you have to do. It is certainly not like a 9-5 job!  You can work when you want to, and if you can; but if you can't, then you don't.  Things you can do include:

> Offering peer education to other young people;
> Delivering humanitarian education in schools and youth groups;
> Helping to train adults and young people alike across Hampshire and Surrey;
> Doing exciting (or silly!) things to raise funds for the Red Cross.

There is something for everyone.  Why not find out more?  You could email Yateley Red Cross Peer Educators, or Mike Baxter, the Red Cross Youth Manager for the area.

Peer Educators get:

> Full membership of the British Red Cross (the same as adults); you will receive an identity card, copies of our magazine Red Cross Life, and insurance cover while on duty;
> Work-wear (Red Cross polo shirt etc) to wear when on duty;
> All training free of charge;
> Accreditation through the Youth Achievement Awards, Millennium Volunteers, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme (service/skills section).

The British Red Cross takes child protection seriously, and you will be given details of your local child protection officer.  All mentors you are assigned will be Criminal Record Bureau checked.

For further information, you could email Yateley Red Cross Peer Educators, or Mike Baxter, the Red Cross Youth Manager for the area.

The text of this page is largely taken from a booklet written for Red Cross Peer Educators by a Peer Educator.  He knows what he is talking about: he has first-hand experience!

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Last updated 16 May 2009