Everyone loves to smile – whether you’re receiving one or sharing one, they make us feel good and brighten our mood. It’s even been proven that smiling has tangible health benefits, with smiles linked to reducing stress and training our brains to be more positive.
It’s not surprising then that smiling is one of the things we measure the success of our Independent Visitor (IV) service with. NYAS’ IV service matches volunteers with children and young people who are particularly vulnerable. Each volunteer is matched with someone in their area and commits to spending time with them each month as a positive role model in their life. Our volunteers take the time to build trust and rapport with their young people, boost their confidence, encourage them to try new activities, share hobbies and most importantly, have fun.
From going bowling to visiting a climbing wall or simply going for a coffee to chat – the activities that IVs take their young people on are always fun and guaranteed to put a smile on their young people’s faces.