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The government-backed Year of the Volunteer kicked into action this January. Find out what is planned and how helping others can help you
Helping yourself
“It’s time to cut to the chase,” says Elizabeth Salter,
head of campaigns for Year of the Volunteer. “Everyone knows that
if you put something in you get something back, but we want people to
realise you can learn real skills that can take you places.”
2005 is the Year of the Volunteer – so decreed by the government
– and now is the time, Salter believes, to sell the hard benefits
of volunteering to the public to set up a healthier future. “There
is something out there for everyone, we’re asking people what their
passion is and telling them they can indulge it through volunteering.”
The main aim of the year – run by Community Service Volunteers (CSV)
and Volunteering England - is to increase the number of volunteers in
the UK, particularly individuals from marginalised groups and young people.
Salter hopes that by explaining that it is possible to gain marketable
skills through volunteering people who never thought volunteering was
for them will be drawn in and tempted to get involved.
Kirsty Brant is a perfect example. A general nurse based in London, she
wanted to work in mental health and turned to volunteering to help her
achieve her goal.
“I became involved in the CSV Allies project four or five years
ago, which is a support scheme that matches up young people in the care
system with volunteers,” she said. “I was matched up with
a 15 year old asylum-seeker called Altin. He had only been in the country
for a year, but I remember his English was already really great.
Brant says she enjoyed spending time with him and seeing him grow up.
“He is 20 now and has turned into a confident young man.”
Brant now works in adolescent mental health and believes getting to know
a young person who had gone through the trauma of being separated from
his family taught her a lot.
Nearly half the population does some form of volunteering and Salter points
out that those that don’t do any would be almost certain to benefit
if they did.
“A lot of people don’t volunteer as they haven’t found
any opportunities that appeal to them,” she explains. “We
want to help them find the specific thing they want to do.”
The year will be divided into 12 themed months and there is also work
going on to create a programme of activities to generate more opportunities
for volunteers.
January was heath month and it is hoped it will help increase the number
of volunteering opportunities in the health sector – overall it
is hoped to generate more volunteering opportunities across the whole
of the public and voluntary sector.
Alastair Marick is a young volunteer operating the trolley run at Birmingham
Heartland and Solihull Hospital. He had just started working at the travel
agent Thomas Cook and as all his shifts were in the afternoon he wanted
to do something constructive with the rest of his time.
‘I was getting a bit bored and frustrated during the day. It felt
wasteful - a waste of time and a waste of life,” he says.
“So instead of sitting in bed watching Trisha every morning
I wanted to make myself useful. People don't expect a 22 year old lad
to volunteer and I'm often treated as a bit of a novelty in hospital."
Other themed months include youth and children, justice, sport, disability
and citizenship. And if you don’t have the chance to volunteer regularly,
in October there will be the opportunity to try something new as part
of ‘make a difference day’.
Salter is keen to point out that it doesn’t matter what you do professionally.
“Some people want to make use of the skills they’ve got while
others see volunteering as an opportunity to do something completely different,”
she says. “We don’t have statistical goals we just want people
to feel inspired.”
Story by Nathalie Towner
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CASE STUDY: KELSA MORGAN, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST, YORKSHIRE “I began volunteering in 1997 after experiencing mental
health problems. I was diagnosed with a mental illness while taking
a degree in Philosophy. |
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