to stop volunteering?

[Scrambledsnakess]

I started volunteering for a charity 6 months ago, doing admin mainly. I do this one day each week. I was out of work for 2 years after having DC, and only worked in retail before having them, so in addition to training for a new job I wanted this voluntary role to boost my CV a bit.

The problem is, it takes up an entire day each week, which I’m starting to feel would be better spent in a paid position. The workload is also really inconsistent - one week I will be swamped in admin, a really unreasonable amount, and other weeks I will sit about twiddling my thumbs bored. I have discussed this but nothing has changed.

on top of that, it is costing me around £50 each month to commute to volunteering each month - I can claim this back, but it often takes ages and is adding extra financial stress.

WIBU to stop volunteering for them, or is it really worth having on my CV for future job roles? FWIW I want to go into a healthcare job. I also would be unlikely to use them as a reference now, as they were quite pushy about the fact that they want volunteers to stay for at least 2 years. I am employed at the moment as a carer for elderly people, so I could use this job as a reference but I’m feeling worried about future employment prospects if I don’t have more to show for myself.

thanks in advance 💐

Give only what you can afford to give, otherwise you are not doing any favour to either yourself or the cause.
This includes time and effort too.

You would not BU to leave in order to take a paid job - charities are used to volunteers leaving, and that's a good reason to leave. Since you already have retail on your cv I can't see what added value the charity shop would give. Being a carer would probably be just as good, if not better, on your cv for a job in the NHS. Good luck!

Didn’t you know it would take a day a week when you volunteered?
Why can’t you just leave when the work is done on days when there isn’t much?
I would really worry about leaving in staying just now - I’d start applying for the jobs you want, in many cases the market is good right now - and that will make your decision for you.

I used to recruit and manage volunteers and our ethos was that volunteers had to get as much out of volunteering as we did for them volunteering for us. If you are not enjoying it and it is causing you financial difficulties then it is time to stop working with them. You have the work you are doing to use as a reference and you have a good and valid reason as to why you have left your volunteering role should you feel you need to explain yourself in the future to any future employee (not that I feel you should have to). If you feel you would still like to volunteer maybe you could look at volunteering in something nearer to the type of work that you would like to do, such as in a care home, hospice or similar?

Can you cut down to half a day? I think varied workload is quite normal though especially in voluntary roles.

Stay but keep job searching?