quick voluntary survey; do you volunteer and if so...

[thirtysomething]

how many hours a week, doing what and most importantly do you enjoy it?
I have both kids at school now and do some paid work but not full-time - I am looking for some voluntary work to feel a bit more useful and maybe expand my social network a bit! So any ideas gratefully received!

I made dinners for a homeless shelter once a week last winter. On top of a full time job I found it a drain and found that my mother (who volunteers at Oxfam) was right about "People who do good" in general and how they behave.

It can be very b'tchy and people in fight and try to outdo each other. It was unbelievable. I was giving 6 to 8 hours of my free time away and the people who ran the shelter full time were giving me grief about stupid things. Never again. Not whilst working, anyway.

That was a bit miserable sounding, wasn't it? The work itself is rewarding and the people who used the shelter were generally lovely. It was the other volunteers who were a nightmare.

I do voluntary work in a nature reserve for the London Wildlife Trust. I enjoy it, I get some exercise, spend time out of doors and see some reward for my labours (such as seeing lots of wild flowers in an area I helped to clear of scrub and nettles). I've also had opportunities for free training (insect ID course, first aid course).

I also do buddy reading at my younger children's primary school (two half-hour slots per week) - that's rewarding because the children really do make visible progress, but the nature reserve is more fun.

Oh - I forgot to say the atmosphere among the nature reserve volunteers is nothing like twelveyeargap's description, probably because we're all a bit more selfishly motivated!

i am a rainbow leader to a group of 5-7 year old girls, we meet 1 hour a week term time

i share the position with another guider which is fine and it's good as it's part of girlguiding uk and they help to send you on any courses that are needed

altogether i would say it takes about 2 hours a week but i think it's time well spent

How about Homestart?

I volunteer two days a week at my local CAB. There is lots of interesting training to go through, the people are just gems and it is very fulfilling. Absolutely no-one is as described below. From all backgrounds and age groups and some incredibly interesting people too.

I also do one morning a week at DS3's school, helping with reading and times tables. The children are delightful and are so keen to impress me with their tables .

I used to be a Samaritan but it is a big commitment and I gave up when I had DS2 as I couldn't manage the time anymore.

Now I'm a school governor - the meetings are a bit dull but I enjoy going into school and being involved in the different areas. The time it takes depends on whether you have meetings etc or not. I have 2 meetings per half term and then wneh ever I arrange to go into school.

I also do some typing and stuff for church but I just do that at home in the evenings whne I can so no great scope for expanding my social network there!

Used to Chair local NCT branch,
used to be on pre school committe
Now on PTA and parent helper at DS school
Qualified First aider at sons rugby team

Also SAHM so otherwise pretty lazy oops sorry not doing that debate are we .

I looked at Homestart aswell but couldn't currently fit in their training programme into sons school hours.

I think Homestart is a good one to consider.

Oh Hall...I used to work for the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust before my dd1 came along! I was Education Officer... I used to volunteer at the weekends for the conservation section.

mummydear - our Homestart ensured the training was during school hours, which was a PITA for me, as I work full-time, so had to book holiday for the training.

I used to volunteer at a local hospice but left when pregnant.

I manned the tea & coffee stall for a couple of hours every fortnight. I loved it, I felt like I was really doing good, and the best thing was that if anything went wrong I got to call someone else to sort it out ( in real life I am a manager and never get to pass the buck) Oh and also they had a scanner for the till, which I found immensely enjoyable.

I found the other volunteers to be fine as well.

Spent years on the committee of a local sports club, and coaching kids. Haven't had the same amount of time since having ds, although dh still does it. Now on the committee for school PTA.

Two hours a week at my dd's school doing guided reading and once a month go in and help at ds's preschool.

Re Homestart my son was still at playgroup when they started the training which went onto 2.30pm in afternoon , and he is now at school half days, but after Xmas I may consider it again.

Towards the end of my time as SAHM mum I was going mad with boredom, TBH, Had done it for 5 years and needed some outside interests and company. Volunteered at my ds's preschool and was able to take him along when I volunteered to help at a support group for mums with PND or worse. Also when youngest was at preschool would help out at school, tidying library up after class visits etc.
Preschool was a couple of hours once or twice a month, school was 2 hours a week, and support group was 2 hours once or twice a month.
Now, I'm delighted as 2 of the volunteer roles have resulted in paid jobs! (wasn't aiming for that but BONUS!!

If you have a Council for Voluntary Services in your town, they will probably have a volunteers Bureau where you can find out about opportunities which might be suitable for you.

i do admin/finance work for the nct. it's rubbish tbh but that's mostly because i get no supervision whatsoever. the person who took on the post senior to me basically didn't bother doing it for the past 2 years so i've been left mostly in the dark without any support during that time. it's caused me to become an even worse procrastinator than i was before and in general doesn't make me feel good about myself, as i'm always behind.

i've done various volunteering jobs as well as worked in organisations that rely on volunteer workers. i think a lot of your how positive your experience will be depends on a) what you're getting out of it i.e. whether it's building or maintaining useful skills or earning you experience in a particular sector and b) what support structure is available for you within the organisation. if the programme is well thought out, with supervision and training it can be great, but if you're mostly ignored, unappreciated and treated as slave labour or you'll get sick of it pdq.

I was a volunteer with BTCV the practical conservation charity. I used to go out on practical outdoor tasks midweek. When i was pg I switched to helping out in teh loacl BTCV office once a week.
why did I do it- I likes getting out into teh conutryside/ edges of the city , doing something physical, practical and good for teh local enviroment. I learnt new skills like hedge laying, willow weaveing and putting up post and wire fences. I was trained to drive a mini bus and to use various tools. I had a laugh, I enjoyed the fresh air, I ate lots of biscuits and drank lots of tea.
Once ds is at preschool etc I will look into doing some tasks with BTCV again, if I stick to the closer to home ones I could cycle there and back to fit in round preschool times.

I voluteer at dd1's pre school once a month & am on the fundraising committee for it.I also do paid work for a local village charity,in a nature garden & am on the fundraising committee & shortly to be a trustee for that too.

I have been asked to become a parish councillor & train to be a magistrate,but I can't manage much more at the minute & run a business as well.I may think again when both dd's are at school.

I enjoy it & apart from one irritating person at pre school who is very pushy & expects the earth from you,all the people I'm involved with are great.

volunteer for charity supporting people with life limiting/terminal illness.

Chairperson of PTA

enjoy both

thanks everyone for all your input - definitely some interesting ideas and things to look into - it's amazing how much time so many people give yet it's not something people often mention...

I am a visitor for people with a terminal illness that hugely limits their mobility and quality of life... I find it emotionally challenging but hugely rewarding.. next want to do some fund raising for the charity ...

I am a visitor for people with a terminal illness that hugely limits their mobility and quality of life... I find it emotionally challenging but hugely rewarding.. next want to do some fund raising for the charity ...