Anne - volunteer facilitator

Anne is a 31 year old mother of 3 from Navan. She worked in finance for many years before giving up her career in 2006 after the birth of her first child. ‘I started volunteering for a number of reasons really. One of the reasons was that I am hoping to go into social care when the children are older and I thought this would be a great way to explore this type of career. And obviously there’s the social interaction, been a full time mother, I’ve missed meeting other adults.’

‘I met with Meath Volunteer Centre and spoke to them about the types of volunteering roles that were out there. They put me in touch with 3 different organisations that were of interest to me. The first one is Bri – Brain Injury Ireland. This is an organisation that provides support to people who have been affected by brain injury and their carers. My role here is to act as a facilitator for the support groups they run every month. These groups are a great opportunity for people who have been affected by a brain injury to come and meet other people who are experience similar challenges. We have a different theme every month and last month’s theme was ‘memory’. It was fascinating to watch the people share tips on how they overcome the memory difficulties they have.’

I am also a volunteer with SOSAD – an organisation that provides support for people who have been affected by, or are vulnerable to suicide. Sosad has an open house policy, where anyone can pop in at any stage if they need a listening ear. My role here is to meet people as they come in and are waiting for their counselling.   I am also responsible for meeting other volunteers and explaining to them what SOSAD is all about and the different volunteering roles within the organisation. I have also just finished my training for Rainbows and I hope to start facilitating support groups for children who have lost parents through separation, divorce or suicide.

Volunteering has taught me a lot. It’s really opened my eyes to the different challenges that people face every day. It’s so easy for us to live in our own little bubble but when you take the time to look at what other people are going through, and how they deal with these challenges it’s a real education. It’s definitely broadened my mind and made me realise how lucky I am. It’s really thought me a lot about myself, given me the chance to learn new skills and meet so many great people. I would definitely think that if you’re considering doing some voluntary work you should go for it, but it’s also important to be realistic about your capabilities. There are voluntary roles out there for everyone so it’s important you take the time to consider what best suits your skills.

‘I worked as a fundraiser years ago a few years ago firstly in Dublin then all around Ireland, helping to raise money for lots of different charities like Barnardos, Focus Ireland, Oxfam and Unicef. It was during this time that I started developing an interest in volunteering. I knew that if I was going to do something it would be through music.   I organised a small concert call Oxjam to raise money for Oxfam Ireland with the help of other musician friends. It’s basically one night a year where we get about 5 or 6 bands together and they all play about a half hour set and have a big raffle with prizes. It’s a real community thing as well – everyone loves getting involved to raise a few quid. We’ve been running it for 3 years now and have intention of stopping any time soon. It’s got to the stage where everyone is expecting it now.’

‘Fundraising can obviously be tough with the recession and the place seems to be saturated with organisations trying to raise vital funds but it’s not as hard as it might seem. Although people may grumble, I do find that they are really supportive if they know it’s for a good cause.’

‘Volunteering has opened doors for me.   I also volunteer with Meath Youth Federation and since that I’ve realised that this is something that I’d like to do as a career. I’ve now decided to do a Degree in Youthwork and Community Development and am hoping to start that next year. If I hadn’t started doing volunteering there’s no way I would have been able to explore these things and realise that this is what I want to do.’

‘I would encourage everyone to get involved with volunteering – there are so many different types of things you could do. There is something for everyone and it will definitely give you a good feeling instead of sitting at home watching Eastenders.   It’s doesn’t take that much to do it and I would recommend that everyone try it at least once – just spare an hour a week!’