Do you volunteer?

Try some of the charities like Red Cross, Sue Ryder, Age UK etc - they usually offer ways of using volunteer's skills.
I'm sure they'd be only to glad to use your abilities. Good luck!

Some local authorities have volunteering web sites that you can have a look on and see whats needed and by whom....good luck getmehrt..sure you will be welcomed with open arms.

I am volunteering 2 days a week at the Citizens Advice Bureau, they always need volunteers in lots of different roles. I am working as a PA to the manager.

Interesting stereotype of volunteers there Getmehrt

Magistrates and special constables are volunteers. Also trustees of charities. And the people who actually give the advice in CAB.

Lots of schools are desperate for governors. Or for people to come in and listen to kids read.

Find something you like doing! No point serving in Oxfam if you would rather be creating a database or helping jobless people with their computer skills. Good luck.

If you volunteer at Oxfam whatever your ability you would certainly be encouraged to use the skills you have and that could include IT work . Jobless people are likewise encouraged through Oxfam to improve their computer skills within the demands of the particular store. If you contact the head Office at Oxford you can easily get more information.

Hi I retired two years ago and was a teacher in a secondary school and also head of house, I decided to volunteer as a Governor in my local primary school. I can go in when I want to listen to reading or help out in other ways, I do find this rewarding. I am also on a panel for young offenders which is very interesting. I went to our local Volunteering office and did a 8 week course (one night a week) about volunteering then groups who want volunteers came in to do a pitch and you could ask questions of the ones you found interesting. My friend is an appropriate adult and she is called in when a young person in arrested and does not have their parents there, to ensure that they get their rights. Lots of interesting things to do that keeps your brain active, that is what I wanted. Hope this helps

There is more about volunteering on the Big Society thread

I was brought up in a "volunteering" family & have volunteered for most of my life (although very little the last 10 years when elderly parents took all of my spare time).
I'd agree that volunteering is whatever you decide, although I am much more the "pushing trolley" volunteer than the "IT" kind as I prefer people contact
Settling in to a new phase of my life at the moment, and looking around to see what to do (as discussed on the "big society" thread.

I have been a volunteer reader at a local junior school for the last 3 years. I thoroughly enjoy it and feel it is a very worthwhile way of spending some of my free time doing. I am sometimes asked to help the children with making things like masks or helping them with their paintings, and also helping some of the slower children with mock SATS exams, some of them need a bit of motivation to get through the papers. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, you choose how often you go in but you will need a CRB check before you start, which takes about 4-6 weeks to come through.

pumpfix - "mock SATS"!! That is so bad.

I know its not your field though.

I used to volunteer at or local neighbourhood centre, making tea and coffee for people who dropped in for a chat. Many were domestic violence victims, and it really bothered me. I wanted to go and bash up their violent husbands. My husband was on the emergency housing committee, and would try to help some of them get the chance to escape. He too found it hard to remain objective. Eventually I went to work full time when our youngest started school, and we stopped volunteering.

Now I would like to teach ESL to refugees, but as a carer for my husband, it just isn't feasible. Instead I'm selfish, and go to a writers' group once a week instead.

when my husband died we had been married 55 years so I knew I had to do something or vegetate and I did 2 things first I volunterd at local Red Cross shop and 2nd asked my son to take me to buy a computer which I had always been interested in using one. that was 8 years ago I am still doing both and enjoy it all. I am 82 years young and enjoying life so my message is do something posative and enjoy it all

Does your area have a "Ring & Ride" or "Link Scheme" which involves driving people to hospitals/doctors' surgeries/ shops or sometimes doing things for older people. Worthwhile and you meet such interesting people on your drives! It's called Community Voluntary Action here but VIP in some places. And you can say no when something else is in your calendar which is great too.

Sorry forgot to add on the IT side that there is someone co-ordinating calls/volunteers etc.

You sometimes reap unexpected rewards from volunteering. My daughter is used to working full time and found she had some time on her hands when they moved to NZ and she no longer needed to work. She volunteers at Riding for the Disabled and has made a host of new friends, and the woman who organises it has invited her to ride with her on her 240 acre ranch and is giving her advanced riding lessons. She hadn't ridden since she sold her horse when she was a teenager and is loving every minute of it. Her daughter, aged 14, and son, aged 13, are also volunteering and enjoy mucking out, grooming the horses and making friends with the disabled children.
She has always been an active member of her community, being a school governor, playgroup helper, etc. and her children have also volunteered during their six-form years. They were helping children with learning difficulties and really enjoyed it. It looks good on their CV too!

I volunteered for the Adult Literacy Scheme and taught Basic Maths when I was teaching. I was treasurer or secretary of the Guides, the Riding Club, and the PTA at each school my girls attended. It was noticeable that the mothers who volunteered (and some Dads) were mainly in full time jobs - the stay at home mums said they were too busy. I did wonder whether it was just that they lacked the confidence of the working mothers. My sister, who has never worked outside the home, used to say often that somebody should be doing something for the young people in her neighbourhood, but was astonished when I suggested that she might do something herself.

The only thing I could volunteer for here in France would be giving English conversation classes at the local school, but I am reluctant to be committed on a regular basis to anything, as I am so often away from home.

I have just been given a post as a Community Govenor at a local primary school. I don't know what my role is yet but I am going on an induction day soon. Having spent my working life in the NHS and social care I didn't want any more of that primary school education is a new one on me.

On the news today the county council is looking for volunteer guides at a number of historic sites - looks interesting.

Anyone interested in school governor role should register on the Governor One Stop Shop who will circulate your interest and details to schools in your area looking for a governor.

susiecb, I'm sure you will enjoy being a governor, especially if you make a point of going into school (by arrangement) and getting to know the staff. I loved 'my' primary school where I chaired the governors for several years. I miss it, but it was time for the younger, very enthusiastic parent governors to take up the reins.

One stop shop only operates in certain boroughs. Not sure how the recruitment of governors is done in academies.

I 'volunteer' ,I have done for the past 6 years or so usually do for family organisations that help families in crisis i.e Domestic violence,etc,I also looked at witness service in Local courts these volunteers support witnesses during their time giving evidence.Also have done CAB,befriending.
does any of those whet your appetitexxx

Anybody else recently done the new CAB training?Am in the middle of a course to be a Gateway Assessor but having spent a day observing am not too sure I like the way the service has changed....basically my function will be to 'interrogate' the 'client' with some very intrusive questions which I put into the computer and then only recommend him/her to see an advisor at a later date, if desperate....which most clients are. I realise they have to be efficient and collect statistics but it all seems a bit detached and timewasting.

I have been helping in a local School with 4-7yr. olds, listening to them reading Nearly 5 yrs. - it is very rewarding when you realise how well they respond. Each child needs a different approach , I think.

Grannylin, I know what you mean. I'm just going to PM you.

If you like history the National Trust is a good one to volunteer for if there's anywhere local. It's not just room guiding they also use a lot of volunteers for research, training and office stuff - and, once you've been there a bit, you get 20% off in the NT shop!