St.Bridget's
Eco-Congregation
2005
- The Year Of The Volunteer
If
you’ve ever been:
· Moved by the plight of
others:
· Angered by the greedy
destruction of the environment:
· Stunned by a dictators
arrogant disregard for human rights:
Then there’s a volunteering role that will
let you get stuck into making the world a better place.
Some volunteers deliver frontline services overseas (such
as teaching, environmental conservation and health care) while many others work
in a vital support capacity in the UK (awareness raising, campaigning,
administering) – fundraising in West Kirby is just as vital as feeding street
children in South Africa.
By donating your time and services, you can help charities
and development organisations to enhance the work they do, without diverting
essential funding from their core work.
A volunteer can often plug a key skills gap or bring
additional knowledge and expertise when required. Volunteers are valued for the
passion, commitment and energy they bring to their work.
A thriving volunteer programme can send a powerful message
to an agency’s funders about how much the community believes in the work they
do. When it comes to writing letters to the paper or a government department,
recipients will often listen more to those who speak with passion rather than
with a pay packet.
The
Benefits
While volunteers, by their very nature, expect nothing in
return for services rendered, many have testified to the rewards they’ve
experienced through their work. Some speak of learning new skills or a growth in self – confidence. Most
frequently, though, volunteering brings satisfaction – seeing how the work they
do contributes directly to improving the wellbeing of others and the
communities they live in.
Making
The Choice
If you are just beginning to think about volunteering, you
could ask yourself:
·
Is there a particular cause or issue I’d like to
support?
·
Is there a particular part of the world I’d like to
make a difference to?
·
Are there particular tasks or activities I’d like to
undertake, or skills that I would like to offer or learn?
·
How much time do I have to offer?
Situations
vacant
If you are interested in volunteering overseas there are
lots of opportunities. Some of these, such as Voluntary Service Overseas, place
people with professional skills – in teaching, management, social work, health
care and IT- in posts for two years. There are also short term placements
available (from as little as a week) that don’t always require professional expertise.
Some volunteering may focus on fund raising, this can
involve putting a collection box in your workplace, or selling Christmas cards
to colleagues, through to running a charity shop or being sponsored for a
parachute jump!
Resources:
- Just a few suggestions
·
VSO – an international development charity combating
poverty in the developing world. 317 Putney Bridge Road, London,SW15 2PN. 020
8780 7241 www.vso.org.uk
·
Online Volunteering – This is a UN website for
virtual volunteers who can serve communities in developing countries without
leaving home (translating documents, writing articles, etc.),
www.onlinevolunteering.org
·
Experience Corps – Recruiter of volunteers over the
age of 50. www.experiencecorps.org
·
West Kirby Voluntary Services - A wealth of information on voluntary services
required by charities and societies in our local community. – Westbourne Road,
West Kirby.
·
BBC Year of the Volunteer – A web address which
gives local information on a variety of voluntary opportunities.- www.yearofthevolunteer.org
Information courtesy of The Rough Guide To A Better World a
joint venture by Rough Guide Books and DFID
And whilst we’re on the subject of
volunteering………
Cardboard – Absolute Rubbish? – No!!!
Sue Harrison writes: There is now
a facility for recycling cardboard at West Kirby tip, but if you find it
difficult to get there with it, I am willing to collect your small items of
cardboard, (cereal packets, toothpaste boxes, insides of toilet rolls) and I
will take them for you. We must make as much use of the facilities provided by
the council as we can, and then hopefully we will at some time get door step
collection similar to that provided by other councils. You can leave the items
with me in the Church Centre at coffee time on Sundays when I am selling Ecover
products. No huge boxes please, as I’ll have to carry them!
If you have any information you would like to contribute to
the green sheets please contact Sally Cashen on 0151 625 2659.