It’s Volunteers’ Week – a time to acknowledge and celebrate the many volunteers who support Voluntary and Community groups across the country.
In Bracknell Forest, there is a thriving volunteer force – people from all walks of life, and with various skills and life experience, giving their time to make a difference to their community.
Aside from the opportunity to offer current skills and experience to an organisation, volunteering is also a great way to build confidence, enhance a CV and take up training, as one of our volunteers here at Youthline can testify:
“I had previously worked in large companies, but not for a long time so self-confidence was low. Voluntary work appealed to me because it is a focused way of developing one’s skills and self-confidence again in the work place and with colleagues.
While I have been with Youthline, I’ve been given the opportunity to progress telephone skills and go on safeguarding training. I have also had the opportunity to be involved in fundraising events and collections plus administration as well as get an understanding of counselling support materials by putting the materials packs together.
I am exceedingly pleased to have been able to offer my time and had the opportunity to work for the benefit of Youthline. The work I have done has been highly regarded on my CV.
I thoroughly recommend the opportunity to volunteer at Youthline. The experiences bring lasting benefits that often lead onto new avenues and good opportunities.”
The world of volunteering is a varied one: from admin roles, to supporting children or adults, to trustee positions. Whether it is to ‘give something back’ whilst working or as a way to gain work experience, the reasons people volunteer are as varied as the volunteers themselves.
Here at Youthline, our counsellors at the Lodge are all volunteers. We also have volunteers in the office, providing admin/reception support, managing our fundraising and providing communications support. They are a valuable and vital part of our organisation – and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their hard work and continued support.