Do I just give up now?

[LukeSkywalkerNooooooooo]

About 3 years ago I approached a local non profit organisation and offered to volunteer. They were keen to have me as I had a relevant degree. I did volunteering for 18 months but then they offered me paid work on a ‘temporary’ basis.

Three months into the temporary work they let me go to give my work to a government kickstart person. They left and they gave me the work back again. It’s been off and on like that for a while now. Then just before Xmas I was offered a permanent job elsewhere which I needed to take as I needed a dependable income. They were not happy with me over it and told me I’d messed things up for them.

Anyway, I’m now spreading myself really thin by doing work for them again around my other job. I do it because I enjoy the work and it’s in a field I’d like to one day work in. I just don’t know if I’m being a mug though. I really want to do fulfilling work but I’m being paid peanuts by an organisation who haven’t seemed to really value me.

I don’t know what to do.

I would stop. You will never feel fulfilled working for a company that doesn't recognise your worth.

Can you volunteer for something in a similar field that is better managed and less likely to mess you around?

Definitely stop, they're taking advantage. The same happened to my sister - divorced, not worked for 12 years and desperate to get something on h her cv. She worked for nothing full time for 18 months working with challenging children and loved the work and the kids. She was given the impression (deliberately) that a paid job coming up was hers. They gave it to a relative, then complained when she finally said no more volunteering. She always felt bad about the young teen she was working with but had to move on to ensure she could fund her own children.

Agree, stop. Third sector is so funding reliant and Kickstart is the latest scheme to get subsidised labour short term. If you need security go work elsewhere and find volunteering to fit around it.

I forgot to mention that, I applied for two jobs with them that I could have done standing on my head but they gave them to other people.

Sorry to keep posting here but I’m so sad this morning. I felt like if found my calling- something with a purpose that I was good at and loved doing. I feel like if I give up this work I’ll never find that again.

Sadly many charities show little loyalty or even value towards their volunteers. Once you have given time for free you are seen as a soft touch. Are there other contacts you have made you could apply to?

We can't make it right for you OP. You have to make it right. You can
(1) continue to spread yourself thin because it is your calling, plus you need to work for money
(2) continue to work with the third sector organisation, but for fewer hours - make sure it's more like volunteering and less like a job
(3) say goodbye for now, because your personal circumstances have changed, but let them know that you love them and would come back for the right opportunity.
There's also a (3a) where you find another similar organisation with similar goals and volunteer there instead, with a clean slate.

I'm sorry you've been treated badly. Remember to value yourself. But your own oxygen mask on before helping others.

*Put, not but your oxygen mask...

You work for them for free so by the sounds of it they won't give you a paid job unless they don't have anyone else - because then they have to pay you and don't have anyone working for free. They're taking advantage of you and that's pretty shit. If they haven't so far then they are never going to give you a job if you keep going as you are.

Tell them that you very sadly just don't have the time to volunteer any more. You haven't messed them up - they have messed you up by taking away your temp job that you loved at the drop of a hat - they are absolutely taking the piss and know you're a soft touch. Then when a job comes up apply for it. When they're no longer getting your services for free they may be willing to pay you. I'd be very wary though as clearly they have no problem just getting rid of people at any moment.

Do not allow them to guilt and emotionally blackmail you, it makes me sick how good charities are at that.

They do pay me but terribly low pay. Like shockingly low.

They’ve also said that they won’t pay me now until the end of March because they need to put me on the payroll and that takes time. So I won’t get any money for any of my work from jan onwards until end of bloody March! Im so sick of it all. I honestly feel like crying.

@leafinthewind those three suggestions are food for thought.