Do you volunteer?

Hi getmehrt I think you were looking for ideas which used your IT skills in particular so I would suggest you put together a brief CV of what you can do and circulate it around all the local charities. Your library should have a list. You could also give it to your local Volunteer Bureau if you have one.

There are lots of other suggestions here if you do want to do something else but I think you are quite specific about what you want to do.

Age UK sometimes run courses for older people who want to learn to use computers - many of us could be helpful with those.

We have a lady who comes into the Charity shop I help out in on a Saturday she brings all the gift aided goods up to date on the computer which really helps us with the end of month figures it is a great help as we can see on a weekly basis how much we are making from the gift aid scheme and how much we need to achieve to reach our monthly target.She is a godsend so you may like to do something like this getmehrt

Most of you know how much I enjoy my community, national and international work with Rotary, of which I am very fond! New members are always welcome.

I am now about to start as a speaker for the Breast Cancer Campaign, who research BC and have exciting research going on.

I volunteer with the Brain Injury charity, Headway. I've worked 'in house' doing all sorts of things, but at the moment, I'm working with a young man who wants to find a job nearer to home. The work is quite challenging, and as he changes his mind every week about what kind of job he wants, quite frustrating! But we're getting there ! We have a plan of action and hopefully he/we'll stick to it.
Used to help out at the local Church's Lunch Club once a month, but I was beginning to find I needed longer and longer to recover from an afternoon of shopping, then a day of food preparation,cooking, serving for 32 elderly ladies and gentlemen and then cleaning up. So I don't do that anymore.

Not volunteering right now, but have done lots of volunteering – sometimes formally and sometimes in a haphazard kind of way (probably not possible these days) in the past. I think helping others in an altruistic way is part of the way we define ourselves as human beings. At the same time, S*d the Big Society.

I've done in the past,but now my pt work seems to have taken over completely. And then there's GN. I don't seem to have time for any hobbies these days!
It's even getting difficult to fit cruising in!

horror jeni We need the vicarious pleasures of your elegant gowns and fabulous voyages. No, no – you must find time.

There won't be any fab gowns unless I can lose a stone!

jeni buy some nice cashmere wraps that can hide a multitude of sins and wear those gowns with gusto when you go cruising.

I've got some beauties I bought in kusadasi, brilliant shop there and we're going back there in sept

Actually it's difficult with crutches, the dratted things keep slipping off!

GrannyHaggis Headway is a brilliant organisation.

My son suffered a stroke 5 years ago at the age of 35. Because the stroke association's main client base is older, he was referred to Headway. His outreach worker has been brilliant, taking him swimming once a week but generally being a friend. Since Matt has been allocated an adapted flat, Headway, and some of their clients have decorated his flat throughout and done lots of DIY for him.

On Friday, he spoke a Headway conference and has been asked to speak at a conference of stroke/head injury professionals. He also had a stall selling his book - he sold out!!

I volunteer for the Witness Service in our local Magistrates Court but given more time, I would love to do something for Headway.

A couple of my friends in Bristol work for headway

Most big towns have a Volunteers Centre and our County Council website has a volunteers wanted section. Through that I became involved in looking after several local historic churches. I also worked for Age Concern (as was) for 10 years as a domicilary Benefits Advisor. Voluntary work these days is a lot wider than pushing trolleys or working in a charity shop.

You are so right, Flickety! When you think of the variety of skills that we, just on GN, have, it is clear that we are an extremely valuable resource. The joy is, of course, that we don't have to do anything unless we want to!

Quite agree with kitty, Headway is a brilliant organisation and does some wonderful work with people with acquired brain injuries. The clients all look out for each other as well and there's a really lovely atmosphere at my local branch.Some real characters ! Some of their stories are horrendous and yet they can joke and laugh about their injuries and make the most of life. I've great admiration for them all.

Hi why not try your local Museum/Archive I did and now run our archive a steep learning curve but well worth it.

Do you know about volunteering with NADFAS? We have branches all over the country. Thousands of us take part in volunteering every week, and we love it.
www.nadfas.org.uk/get-involved/volunteering

Volunteering with NADFAS gives you an chance to learn new skills and make friends with the same interests.

You could help in Heritage Projects, in local museums, galleries and country houses by getting involved in conserving, cataloguing and stewarding and more.

You like being with young people? NADFAS runs Young Arts Projects involving schools and groups. They have such enthusiasm.

We even have Church Recorder groups recording the contents of churches and other places of worship so our wonderful National Heritage is not lost.

And this isn't all....

Look at the website: www.nadfas.org.uk

- come and join us-it's fun!

Here's a volunteering suggestion that I don't think anybody on this thread has raised yet. How about volunteering from your own home, using something called microvolunteering. The micro bit refers to the time it takes to volunteer, which in this case is anything upto 30 minutes.

I've been doing it off and on for quite a while now, and although it doesn't give you that person-to-person volunteering feeling, it's darned useful if you want to do something good / nice without the hassle or commitment of attending an event.

Look at this website:
helpfromhome.org/

Hope I've just planted a tree and helped to feed children in Argentina . It all seems too easy.

I'd never thought of it as volunteering till I read this thread but I too was on the PTA of my children's schools for many years. I helped reorganise the primary school library, ran umpteen fundraising evenings, helped to organise the float and costumes for the school's entry to the gala day procession as well as helping out on outings. I loved it, I was a stay at home mum till my youngest was nine and helping at play group, primary then high school was a big part of my life even after I began working again.

I plan to retire next year and have begun applying for voluntary work, from the commonwealth games to a local charity. It is a bit like applying for paid jobs so I don't yet know if I'll be accepted.

Cancer Research UK is always looking for volunteers.
I do things like admin, helping at events like Race for Life and street collections.
I also help at exhibitions.
CRUK tends to be dominated by women volunteers but men are very welcome.
People think I help because my wife died of cancer. This is not correct.
We both got involved because the aerobics group we went to decided to enter or volunteer for Race for Life.
If my wife had passed away with a heart problem I may have continued to support Cancer Research UK as that was my late wife's favourite charity.
Oddly a few people lost their parents through dementia but their parents nominated charity was CRUK or the British Heart Foundation.
People may argue their funeral collection should have gone to a dementia charity but once dementia sets in it is impossible to ask the parent if they want to change their wishes.

Frank

I am just training to be a volunteer reader in Schools i think i will find it very rewarding.