Volunteering... help restore my faith!

I volunteer one day a week at a local charity shop. It's really hard work but I love it.
I also volunteer with a local Brownie pack. I can't tell you how rewarding it is. I absolutely love all the girls. It's brilliant.

When I first retired (I was a teacher) I worked on a farm for 5 years taking groups on farm tours and teaching about the animals. They were mostly school groups but also Young Carers and women's groups from different cultures.

During Covid I volunteered stewarding and booking in at a mass vaccination centre and did that for about 2 years.

I now volunteer for a Foodbank but don't seem to have had the problems others have mentioned above. I talk with a lot of people with very different lives to me and have learned a lot of things most people don't know about.

I volunteer with girlguiding. I enjoy arranging and doing activities and trips with the girls. We give them some great opportunities and it’s lovely to see them enjoying themselves and developing skills.
It’s also social for me - I’m friends with other leaders and am part of Trefoil Guild which is basically socialising for adult leaders without the kids.
Volunteer role does take up time (lots of planning, paperwork, training not just 90 mins a week session) and some parents are surprised it’s unpaid and I have a pretty full on professional job too.

It definitely is hard however I found because I volunteered with animals which I'm passionate about it gave my life more purpose and I didn't struggle combining it with work, kids etc

I help out at a local primary school when they go on external visits - I can't do anything regular because of other commitments but the secretary sends out an email of dates and visits to the volunteer list and just reply yes or no.
I get far more out of it than I put in (I research the venue beforehand) and if the children don't ask a question then I will ask something.

I am a trustee for 2 charities. One runs a food bank and a lunch club for people who would otherwise eat alone. The other is a history group which has brought a neglected 17th century building back into public use as a history hub. Last month we ran our second event and sold out in 12 hours and hosted a finds evening for the portable antiquities scheme and were handed a solid gold Boudica era coin. It was such a privilege to see it and hold it.

I also volunteer my other skills from time to time. I'm currently writing a funding and grants strategy for my local parish Council to see if we can raise a million pounds for a community centre. The councillors are all lovely and hard working but this isn't a skill set they have and it's good to use my skills for my own community.

I also volunteer as a mock interviewer in a school and recently even did an assembly for year 8s. I do a lot of public speaking in my job but year 8s are a tough audience! I spoke about my own squiggly career and why you don't have to know what you want to be when you're a grown up as I apparently am a grown up and I am still working it out!

I"m a Good Neighbour.
I visit a housebound person once or twice a week for a natter and a cup of tea.
Takes an hour or so of my time and makes a big difference to them

In the past I've helped out at cubs/scouts and was a City Host when my city was European City of Culture.
When Im properly retired I'll probably help out at the library and allotment committee

I’ve done volunteering but it’s a bit hard to commit many hours when you have to work to live also. It’s fun in retirement or if you’re rich

Nope. It’s about knowing your worth. Want my time and my skills? Pay me.

I help with collecting funds for the Royal British Legion and the RNLI. I also help out at our local heritage railway. This year I joined the team who pick up toads, frogs and newts from the roads during breeding season and take them down to the ponds. I love volunteering and have met some lovely people doing it.

I volunteer at a Repair Cafe, it's as good for the menders as it is for the customers (or at least for me). Have met lots of people with interesting backgrounds and skills, plus loads of locals through mending their stuff. Would recommend to anyone.
I also walk a dog once a week through Cinnamon Trust, can't have one of my own so that's rather exciting imho!

For the last 2 years I’ve volunteered in RSPCA shop of the local branch and I love it. I do 8 hours per week.
I do it to give something back as I adopted my cat from them, and saw 1st hand the fabulous work they do.

I used to be a Homestart volunteer and on the school PTA. Currently am on the fundraising committee for DD's dance school, am a volunteer chaperone and also help run a support group for parents of children who have the same disability as DS.

I help in a hospice inpatient unit and, perhaps surprisingly for some, it's a really lovely place to be usually. Great people and a privilege to give a little help and support during their most challenging of times.
I also volunteer within the criminal justice system. More challenging, sometimes rewarding, definitely needed.

I'm on the PTA and also help the local Cubs group.
It's been very out of my comfort zone as I'm an introvert but it's been great for meeting new people and building confidence.

My mum has recently retired and she helps at her local school and hospital and is loving it.

I volunteer with Rainbows, help with the PTA and also set up a free baby group after covid to get families back together and support each other. I don't do the baby group anymore as my work hours changed but the local church took it on and it's still going strong, which is brilliant

Volunteered for Samaritans as a listening volunteer since 2016. One shift a week, 3 hours. I’ve heard it all, and everything in between. Suicide, abuse, debt, prisoners, mental health in abundance. The weird, the wonderful, and the damn right bonkers. The shit people have to live with never ceases to astound me.

I love it.

I have been on the PTA at my children's school for the last 6 years and not withstanding the odd gripe from parents and a bit of frustration with the organisation of the school I have loved every minute of it. Love thinking of events to put on, love seeing the kids have fun, have made some really good friends and we have raised a shit load of money and made some real improvements to the school. When my eldest leaves in a couple of years I will be looking for other volunteering opportunities. My dad is nearly 80 and is a trustee of a local charity, he has been volunteering since I was a baby in one form or another so I think I get the need to help from him.

I volunteer in a local historical building and I love it. Lots of school trips and I've met people from all over the world. I love history and I feel very privileged to be able to volunteer in such a beautiful building

The sentiment of this thread as a place to thank others and to hear about their voluntary work is great and well done to everyone who is able to volunteer but I'm sorry OP but this is not ok:

I think there are so many people who do FA in terms of giving back and maybe we can encourage a few more people to get involved?

That is just not fair. Volunteering takes up a lot of time and energy which many people don't have. Perhaps they would like to do something but they are working long hours or bringing up a family or caring for elderly relatives.
Some people are struggling to make ends meet and having to take on extra shifts or doing two jobs just to stay afloat.

Often people are giving back to society by the nature of the work they do, through bringing up children and being unpaid carers.

I cannot volunteer because it's just not possible under my current circumstances and there will be plenty of others like me.
It's not ok to say "do FA". Please remember that being able to volunteer is coming from a place of privilege and not everyone is able to.

To finish on a more positive note, yes, it's amazing what volunteers do and how dedicated so many of them are and what they contribute to society.

I volunteer as a scout leader and am a charity trustee.

I get a lot out of both roles and enjoy it. I’ve made great friends too.

I litter pick in our local area (because the council are dreadful). Also at the local garden - but that is tricky at the moment because my own garden needs most of my physical energy. Monthly as an usher at a community theatre - which is great because I get to see plays for free!
I also mentor young refugees and asylum seekers which is a total joy. Helping them establish themselves, access education and begin to be a useful part of society. It's sometimes tough - my current mentee messages me daily about his laptop password - but the rewards are enormous and make my life better.
My ultimate aim is to teach literacy in prisons, but the requirements need me to spend money on qualifications that I just don't have (the £ that is).
Volunteering is central to my values and soul (I have frequently been called a bleeding heart liberal). To my mind, I live in one of the safest countries in the world and have immense privilege by being able to access food, water, shelter. medication and education.
I know many people in the UK are suffering at the moment - but we have safety nets that are not available in many many other countries.

I've done loads over the years. I was brought up with Mum doing a books-on-wheels round - we used to go with her in the school hols, and I was volunteered by mum to help one of her "old ladies" to go through her bills and bank accounts with her, as she couldn't read except in large print, and companies weren't as likely to make adjustments like large print statements back then. But i also had volunteers running my swimming club, my Duke of Edinburgh Award, my sister's guide troop, and loads of jumble sales and the like. So i saw examples of volunteering everywhere, and i knew so many things wouldn't happen without them.

I've taught swimming, done wildlife counts, scrub clearance, building, lots of STEM activities with schools, stewarding at agricultural shows, run a public speaking club. Tomorrow, I'm encouraging kids on an IT summer camp to consider careers in tech (which is helping work achieve their social value goals.) On Saturday, I'm stewarding at an outdoor event. Later in August, I'm volunteering at a museum for a day. Oh, and I'm a regular blood donor (when I'm allowed - currently barrdd for low iron.)

I usually do one-off events than regular, weekly stuff, because that fits in better with the rest of my life currently.

I volunteer at an animal shelter. It's fabulous. I do a mix of jobs there from IT to general maintenance. And there's always at least one dog in the office!

I volunteered at the local zoo when my daughter was small. It was in the activity centre so face painting, helping kids make badges and colour stuff in. Some small animal care as well. Was there for about a year. Then I joined the pta when my son started school. Finally I became a beaver leader when my son joined beavers and did that until Covid. No volunteering now but am working more now than I did when kids were smaller.