What sort of volunteer work would you/have you got involved with?

[pickingstrawberries]

I'm really interested in involving myself in something that I hope would benefit my community, and the people in it, and I suppose I'm just asking for some ideas and suggestions for what others do or what inspires others?

Thank you :)

Previously I have volunteered in a charity shop, pre-school committee, many years as an active school governor and am starting as a magistrate in the autumn.

Guides, Brownies, Independent Visitor for kids in foster care (basically just fun- title is way more serious than it needs to me) and a local community centre as trustee/events organiser/bacon fryer/key holder etc. all different and mostly a lot of fun.
Do you want to do group volunteering or one-on-one?

Oh I also did a stint at a Contact Centre for NRP and the like. Was really interesting and is an important cause. Also sometimes the kids shared their pick and mix.

I've been a CAB advisor for a few years now. It's rewarding but quite high pressured and demanding.

It's worth asking around in your local community, in my town there are lots of volunteer projects for all kinds of stuff like cleaning up the river bank or helping at the local museum.

I used to help with Rainbows before I had dc. Currently I am a parent governor at my son's school, and I love it.

I volunteer with women's aid where I help to run different kinds of classes. I have also been on my school's pta and helped run music classes

I'm management chair of a bereavement charity. I began as a volunteer counsellor and stuck around. I sit on four different committees, line manage the paid staff, write funding bids, interview potential new counsellors and deliver training.

I like the sound of the women's refuge.

I'd love to do something like the bereavement charity but it just sounds too upsetting.

I work at the food bank,and as school governor.

I've volunteered at a soup run for a homeless charity. I've got an interview next week with Locala to volunteer on an elderly ward at our local community hospital.
I'd suggest whatever you go for try check out the charity etc as much as you can, see if you can do something to gain useful experience or qualifications too.
It needs to be something you'll enjoy x

Being a magistrate sounds interesting, I thought that was actually a proper job that volunteers couldn't do!

www.gov.uk/become-magistrate/what-magistrates-do

So did I!

I have been a governor and secretary of the PTA.

I would like to be a befriender for teenagers but you can't have any dependents under the age of 14. I would also like to do something with the elderly and volunteer in the heritage sector. There is one museum in particular but I can't think what I would do there.

I think I'd like the befriending but I have young children. I've been a bit down lately and the best way to get your head from up your bum is to do something nice, I find :)

I would say just think carefully about any volunteering jobs that could be replacing paid staff. This would not be advertised but a few enquiries should be all that is needed to find out. I am someone who's job will be replaced in the next 18 months by volunteers. I work for a local council who are trying to get rid of as many staff as possible to save money despite giving councillors a raise and have millions in assets. You want to look for a role that is offering something that is not already covered like the book club in a nursing home as mentioned or spending time with people in hospitals or at a food bank. Also places like National Trust houses and gardens have volunteer placements that are not taking paid jobs.

I will bear that in mind, thank you x

Red Cross. Great for volunteers. Lots of different things you can do, not just first aid. Very professional with training, support and pay travel expenses of you want.

Community centres use volunteers in all sorts of roles - no way would they be able to afford to pay people.

If you approach local charities lots of them need trustees to sit on their boards then you can get involved as much or as little as you like.

That's helpful, thanks.

Is it not really upsetting doing a lot of bereavement work?

Currently school governor and cook once a month for a homelessness project.
Have been chair of pre-school, read in school and helped out with the education department of an environmental organisation, which led to a job.

Local credit union a few years ago. Now a governor of an alternative provision free school for teenagers who have struggled with mainstream education.

Befriender for the RNIB.
I take a blind lady out shopping for an afternoon one every couple of weeks.
She doesn't get much opportunity to get out the house and just likes a chance to pick up a few things and chat in Starbucks over a coffee.
Gives both of us a chance to moan about our families without worrying how you'd feel if you ever met them.

Chair of governors at my local primary school.

I've always wanted to be a magistrate though, so might look at that in the future.

Before DCs, charity bookshop (loved it, would happily do as my day job) & volunteered with a couple of youth groups.

After DD1 I got involved with a local social enterprise which is not charity exactly but is a community initiatives. It pretty much became a job so I've had to step back from that when DC2 arrived. I love it, but it's very time consuming, and it was something I'd always wanted to do (or turn into a real job if I could) - I hope it will open doors into other things in future but I'm a bit torn really about what to do next.

Really want to be back in the book shop drinking tea and sorting through all the lovely books.

I am currently an Assistant Section Leader for Beavers, which I've done for ~3 years and will carry on for at least a couple more years.

Before that, I was on the management committee for after school club for about 5 years and on the parents committee for nursery for 3 years.

Before children, I was on the committee for a charity called Verity and had a role that was also involved with a number of fertility-related charities.
And at university I was a volunteer for Nightline (a kind of Samaritans for students).
I have only ever done one of them at once though, as I work full time and have 3DC