BECOMING A VOLUNTEER
Home · About us · Becoming a volunteer · Organisations ·Contact us · Search · Useful linksThe Methodist Church
10 Wesley Walk
WITNEY
Oxon
OX28 6ZJ
Tel & Fax: 01993 776277
Volunteering can offer you the chance to learn new skills, use your existing skills and expertise, develop new interests, meet people, become involved in action that effects social change and the opportunity to get involved!
Volunteer Bureaux are committed to promoting volunteering to people who are not traditionally seen as volunteers. This means that Bureaux put resources into promoting volunteering to people who are disadvantaged or who are from groups who are discriminated against.
Volunteer Bureaux have experience of placing and supporting volunteers in a range of opportunities, from working for environmental groups to becoming involved in action that effects social change.
The diversity of volunteering opportunities is enormous.
Volunteering can improve the quality of your life-so says Pat, one of our volunteers…Read on to find out how…
Pat James has been a volunteer with Volunteer Link-Up since April 1998. She was unemployed then and finding it difficult to get a job, she was in poor health and feeling depressed wondering just what she could do. Being a shy person, she was finding it a problem to motivate herself and explore opportunities for volunteering work in order to get out of the home. Then one day, she spotted Volunteer Link-Up’s advertising board outside the office. She admits to feeling ‘really frightened’ as she walked up the stairs to the office but says this was soon dispelled by the friendliness of the staff and that they took the time to listen and explain everything to her. She says that she had become accustomed to thinking she was ‘useless’ and ‘no good at anything.’ She was despairing of finding anything worthwhile to occupy her time. During the interview and gentle questioning, it became clear that one of the things Pat most enjoyed doing was driving so it was suggested that she might like to drive for Volunteer Link-Up’s transport scheme. Since then, Pat has been driving regularly and has enjoyed meeting a lot of elderly and disabled people. She now feels a great sense of achievement and fulfilment in enabling people with disabilities to get out and about, attend appointments and join in their various activities. These are people who are often prevented from using public transport because of their disabilities or because there is no public transport available to them in their rural area. Pat says that they are all very appreciative and this adds to her general feeling of well-being, in giving a service that is really necessary. It is improving the quality of her life as well as that of the clients.
After gaining confidence with her driving, she more recently embarked on another volunteering opportunity at Witney Community Hospital where she assists in running activity sessions for the patients every week. She and the hospital Volunteer Co-ordinator devise appropriate activities like bingo and quizzes and opportunities for reminiscences and join in with the patients, some of whom are long term in the hospital. Pat appreciates the opportunity to work as a team at the hospital and feels that her contribution is essential to the patient’s activity sessions, so this has boosted her morale. Recently she has also become aware of another need for volunteers advertised by Volunteer Link-Up and now has the confidence to explore the possibility of assisting with the Court Witness Service.
Pat now feels she has a real purpose to her life, has a feeling of being needed, appreciated and valued, has made new friendships and her health has improved too. She says she is very grateful for the tremendous difference voluntary work has made to her life and appreciates the ‘wonderful support’ received at Volunteer Link-Up where the staff took time to listen and to chat to her.