Volunteering... help restore my faith!

I'm not a leader. Just a volunteer and even I spend considerably more time than an hour a week. I have a car boot and garage full of Brownie stuff. Whenever I'm in a charity shop I have a look for anything that could be used in a meeting. It's all consuming.
I do love it though.

Thank you @fowyvyot - I was struggling with how to respond to that sentence in the OP.

I have a huge appreciation of volunteers and the work they do.

I haven't been able to volunteer myself, due mainly to a busy NHS role which has now resulted in severe burnout. I know there will be many in busy jobs who are also volunteers, but that wasn't possible for me.

As you say, being able to volunteer is a privilege.

Such a lovely thread! I wouldn’t have the career I’ve had without volunteering, so always try to give back to a cause different to the field I’m working in.

I’m currently between trustee roles, although have stayed on in an advisory capacity in the charity where I’ve just completed my term. Anyone out there with any tips for getting into a new trustee role, by any chance?

I have volunteered lots in the past, but also get fatigued from it so take a break to recharge

In the past I volunteered at an adult education centre helping adults with literacy problems. It was very rewarding. Helping them fill in forms,write letters and practice reading etc.Sadly now no longer running. Also used to help run a school library.
Now volunteer weekly at our local library. As you can tell reading and books are very important to me !

I’ve heard similar stories before, what a shame. It is one reason id decided to volunteer for a large national museum with a big vol programme - we have managers, different roles, training (general and specialised) etc. it doesn’t rely on one person or one role. Not perfect but it generally works well. I also just sign up for the shifts I want to do. I may choose to do things that mean a greater commitment (supporting specific events as part of an established team for example), but it is up to me.

I’m a Brownie leader. An hour a week, my behind!

This is partly why I don’t feel like going back to digital volunteering in the county library service. I didn’t really feel welcome by the manager or some of the staff and I simply couldn’t commit to being there same time every week. I understood why they needed someone to do that but it wasn’t for me.

The garden volunteering has no such pressure and it’s a pleasure to be there.

That's a bit of a sad way of thinking about it as so much in society wouldn't exist if people didn't volunteer for free.

I tried Homestart awful to volunteer for . I was "encouraged" to do so by the Job Centre and they treated me like an employee. Wanted me there all the time!

Volunteer with HomeStart and with troubled teens. X

Absolutely. Definitely. I find it appalling that this is considered more and more the norm these days.

I've never been asked to do set hours. In all three volunteer roles I've had I just had to sign up to what shifts I wanted to do.

@K1P1K1 it's a shame but some places do seem to think they can treat volunteers like paid staff. I've avoided volunteering where they want you to commit to set hours every week. You might do better with more unoffiicial groups where you go or not as you please

I'm jealous of all of these wholesome volunteering stories and roles. I have volunteered various times in the past, and so often I've been left fairly dejected at it all.

School reading, morphing into essentially an unpaid TA half a day a week for more than a year - chair of the PTA and another doing a similar role to me but longer serving given public thanks at Christmas, but not me. I don't need thanks in itself, but it's hard not to take stuff like that personally. I was eventually moved to a different class without being told just dropped on me when I turned up one day, which that teacher let just fizzle out. There are lots of potential reasons I do understand, but it shows I wasn't valued enough for someone to even chat to me about it.

A few hours a week in one of the offices of a big charity. I more than pulled my weight and my skillset made me a fairly valuable volunteer, head of dept made a point of telling me so etc. I went above and beyond for them. Then there was a restructure within a few departments and the nice manager left. New one asked me to come in an extra day to hand over something I had worked on, but then seemed annoyed I actually turned up. Then he just never arranged my next day, and by then I was not inclined to chase them as if they could do me a favour!

I help out after hoc with various stuff as it comes up still because that's just my nature, but I don't think my self esteem is tough enough for a more regular role again 😆 I'm really pleased to hear that it works out nicely for so many though.

Actually it is ... marvellous. Bloody marvellous in fact!

I volunteer a lot at my sons primary school - pta, library and outdoor play - I love it. I can see how overstretched and underfunded schools are and so anything I can do to help really makes a difference. It’s great to spend time with the children and the staff are all amazing too. When we put on a pta event and I look around and see everyone enjoying themselves it’s like, wow, we did that.

There are frustrating sides too - getting enough parent volunteers is a challenge for example.

As well as official volunteers, I think there are plenty of people who are good neighbours. Picking up other peoples litter, adding a few tins to the food bank collection point, supporting an elderly neighbour with getting to hospital or the shops… All these come under the same bracket of civic mindedness, even if people need to work full-time.

I'm a chair of school governors for a large primary (nearly 1000 pupils) in a deprived area of the city I live in. It can feel like a second job some days but the support governors give the staff, and children is very rewarding. I have built a good relationship with the head, challenging him but also supporting when the school has been through tricky times. I have huge respect for all school staff having seen what goes on behind the scenes. I also do occasional volunteering at sports events which is much more light hearted but I always have a smile on my face so great for my wellbeing.I'd love to do more and this thread has inspired me!

During Covid I signed up to a scheme to call people who may have felt isolated.

I got matched with a person around my parents age through a shared interest and started calling once a week. Over time we built a really nice friendship and it was definitely a two way conversation. Always enjoyed catching up especially if either of us had been away or to an event in the week.

The calls didn't stop and went on for several years until I got a message from their spouse to say they had died. I avoid funerals if I can but decided to go. It's amazing how well you can know a person without ever actually meeting them

I volunteer on a combined world veterinary services and mission rabies project. The project has several objectives 1. Vaccinated dogs for rabies to reduce the number of deaths of children from rabies in south east Asia 2. Neutering program for dogs to aid population control 3. Teaching the neutering surgery to vet students and recent grads. I am a volunteer surgical instructor carrying out the training working with a wonderful group of Thai vets. I go for two weeks a year. The Chiang Mai area of Thailand is now rabies free and they are now working in Phnom Penh.
it is a one health project.

In involved in a small charity that provides Christmas presents to children who wouldn't otherwise get one in my local county. I started volunteering on collection days nine years ago through a work initiative and then I stayed with it.
We went for charity status last year as donations are understandably dropping and I needed a way to apply for larger grants.
I spend a few hours a week emailing, calling and identifying funding streams and then from Nov my house resembles Santa's grotto with all the gifts donated.

I love it, it's hard work, it's hard getting funding when there are so so many other worthwhile charities out there, but we helped around 2000 children last year and women in the locals women's refuges.

I've also done PTA when my DD was at primary.

I'm on the committee of two small local charity run organisations (think village amenities). It's not a huge commitment, meetings every couple of months and pitching in at the odd local event etc. but you'd be surprised how hard it is to find people to volunteer even for that low-level of commitment, without which these well-used amenities could not function. I'd urge anyone in a village to give what is literally an hour or two a month to such a cause and help keep your village community spirit alive!

I volunteered for three years to read with Year 6 Primary school kids, and organise and run their school library. Loved it. They would come into the library so eager to look for a good book, and I loved hearing them read and explaining words and concepts to them, or the background to a story. So many kids aren’t read to.

Stopped because we are doing a lot of hiking and want to be away during term time, and I always said I’d finish when DS finished school, which he now has after A levels. Could happily do it again at some point.

I charge my clients handsomely so that Ican afford to volunteer as much as possible. I run two community sports clubs and invest my own money into covering kit and membership fees for kids on low incomes. I also volunteer 2 days a week for my professional body. In my spare time I advocate for women being treated shittily at work. I'm an employers worst nightmare for grievances.... I pretty much work to pay my basic bills and cover the joy of volunteering.

I genuinely think volunteering is kind of a bit selfish because I get so much more back than I put in.