V•Inspired is the newest member of the European Youth Card Association, having been awarded the licence to develop the European Youth Card in England.

The organisation is the UK’s leading volunteering charity for 14-25 year olds, supporting young people to get involved in causes they care about and make a difference. V•Inspired believes that volunteering can create more cohesive communities whilst giving young people the opportunity to learn new skills and discover their talents. These shared values created a solid foundation for the organisation’s membership in EYCA.

Jarkko Lehikoinen, EYCA President, stated: “We are very honoured and happy to welcome v•Inspired to the European Youth Card Association. We were utterly impressed with their work and the passion with which they encourage young people to get involved in their community and make their mark. We have absolute confidence that this amazing team will build the European Youth Card into a most valuable tool supporting young people in England.”

Speaking for v•Inspired, Jessica Taplin, the organisation’s CEO, said: “v•Inspired is delighted to join EYCA and be awarded the licence to run the European Youth Card in England. Our work has developed over ten years to span many different types of youth social action and volunteering activity. We haved supported over a million young people to create positive social change and learn new skills for themselves. Over the next four years our aspiration is to build on our legacy by creating a dynamic new platform. The EYC will be central to the delivery of our new service; it will enable us to reward young people who give their time to volunteer, and it will help us to reach even more young people, particularly those who have found it harder to access opportunities or lack the confidence to take them up. We are also excited about becoming part of the EYCA membership and look forward to working alongside like-minded organisations which share our aspirations for young people.”

The new addition to the Association extends EYCA’s reach to 37 member organisations developing the European Youth Card in 35 countries across Europe.