My placement is nearing an end as a Volunteer Intern with Cookstown and Magherafelt Volunteer Centre.

I started my placement in September 2013 during my third year of my degree course in Consumer Studies at the University of Ulster in Coleraine.  In my placement I have gained valuable experience from working on a wide range of tasks within the Centre.

Before I officially started my placement I met with Barbara, Recruitment and Placement Officer and Michele, Volunteer Centre Co-ordinator in their Magherafelt office to discuss my role, the skills which I could offer and opportunities for involvement which could make a positive contribution to the work of the Centre and also enhance my learning experience and personal development.

I had four training days in mid- September which mainly involved induction about policies and work – shadowing Barbara, Michele and Joanne, Recruitment and Placement Officer in the Cookstown Office.

From the beginning I have been made very welcome as part of the team. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but I settled in quite quickly and found there was always plenty of work to be getting on with.

As it would not be possible to detail all aspects of the work I was involved with I have outlined some examples in an effort to illustrate the variety of opportunities which are available in the life of a busy Volunteer Centre.

I had weekly supervision with Barbara to discuss my workload, training opportunities and my plan of work.  This provided me with the opportunity to discuss any problems or concerns I had.  

On a daily basis I assisted with the day to day running of the Volunteer Centre offices.  As raising public awareness is key to the success of the Volunteer Centre I was involved in a number of events and activities, the biggest of which was the Volunteer and Recruitment Fair held at Meadowbank Sports Arena in late 2013.

I had the opportunity to represent the Volunteer Centre at a range of events including NRC InfoFest 2013 and many other local Awareness and Information Events.

Student Volunteering Week saw me at the University of Ulster Campuses in Magee, Jordanstown and Coleraine to promote volunteering.  On the lead up to Valentine’s Day I organised a media campaign encouraging people to “Be the Heart of Your Community”.

Volunteering however is not all hard work – there are also social occasions, for example, the AGM and Celebration Evening held in Greenvale Hotel and the Millennium Volunteers Award Ceremony held in the Guildhall, Londonderry. Here I received my certificate for completing 200 hours of volunteering.

If this award is something you are not familiar with I would encourage you to find out more and get involved – it may be that you are already volunteering in a local youth club for instance, and these hours link together like building blocks.

Overall my experience has been very enjoyable and rewarding. Volunteering is not all one-sided; it’s not all about giving to the organisation and the community – there are many benefits for the volunteer in working individually or as part of a team, gaining experience in a wide variety of settings and learning new skills through attendance at courses.

In conclusion I would like to especially thank Barbara, Michele and Joanne for their help and encouragement.

Thanks also to all the staff and volunteers who helped make my placement a worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

 
Carolyn

Volunteering in Magherafelt is probably one of the best uses of your spare time available.

Don’t believe me?!

What other activity allows you to use your skills in selling to the public one day and the next, help an organisation catch up on its administration activities?

Okay… admin might not sound like fun. But the people you help are good people and you end up enjoying working with them.  I’ll tell you more on that later.

I’m Chris. At the moment I am a full time carer for my mum. She has a severe form of arthritis and her mobility most days isn’t good. So I’m at home most of the time helping her as much as I can. When we made the decision about her care needs we also discussed that I would need some time to me out of the house, and volunteering offered that ‘escape’.

I have been a volunteer, on and off, for over 10 years. Don’t worry, I won’t tell you about all of my experiences today. It would be too long and you wouldn’t read it. So, I’ll just talk about one role today

On a Wednesday morning I walk into the Magherafelt office of the Cookstown Magherafelt Volunteer Centre and take my seat at the Volunteer’s desk. The staff and volunteers that work here are a committed bunch. Overseeing the volunteers is Barbara. Most of you will know Barbara as she is the Volunteer Recruitment and Placement Officer. There is also Michele the Centre Coordinator, Carolyn (Volunteer Intern), Nathan (work experience student), George (very committed Chairman of the Volunteer Centre) and a whole array of other characters.

Barbara always has a task (or tasks) that need to be completed. There are a lot of volunteers, volunteer organisations and volunteer activities in the area with more new ones all the time. With all this new information the Volunteer Centres’ database needs quite a bit of management.

The source of all your local volunteer news, Volunteer Focus e-news, involves a lot of work. So I help Barbara bring together information from new and ongoing opportunities and other sources for articles for the monthly newsletter, which I’m sure you all read.  If you don’t already read it, follow this link to sign up.

Along with the usual tasks there is always something big happening which requires an extra hand. And these extras are a good time to show off your initiative. Recently I got to help with the Volunteer Recruitment Fair. On the run up to the big day I was given the task of ensuring the social media sphere was aware of it and seeing what other advertising we could get. I’m happy that the shares on Facebook and retweets on Twitter helped the message reach an extra few hundred people. And the event was given a shout out on most of the local radio stations. On the big day we arrived at Meadowbank Arena and started setting up. While everyone else worked on refreshments it was noted that we were short on chairs, extension cables and tables. I went off and asked the arena staff what they could do. The extras were sourced and the crisis was averted. I enjoyed the rest of the day, helping Barbara, Michele, Joanne and Carolyn make the event run as smooth as possible.

I said earlier that the admin may not be fun and it can be intensive, but I have very quickly developed a friendship with the people I work alongside. And that makes the difference, I end up going into the office not just to do the work, which is important, but to have a cuppa and chat and make a difference, especially to someone like me. 


Chris

Sinead McGrogan from Castledawson is a volunteer with the NSPCC’s ChildLine Schools Service.

I was encouraged to get involved with the ChildLine Schools Service as the type of work and responsibilities sounded very interesting to me. I would like my future career to involve working with children in some way, and was keen to volunteer within such a large organisation which commits itself to a very good cause.

This service is so important, because it enables us to reach more children and reassure them about where they can go if they have a problem. From my own experience I have learned that it’s important just to be there, if only to listen.

Our service focuses on nine to 11 year olds, and aims to help them understand what abuse is, how to protect themselves and how to seek help if they need it – including through ChildLine. I hope that I will be able to contribute to achieving the new service’s goals and gain great personal experience in the process, and would encourage anyone with an interest to get involved. This is such a worthy cause and, on a personal level, you can access excellent training and be part of a really supportive team.”

I started volunteering after my GCSE’s, heading into Lower 6th, as I was always told to get some experience by my careers teachers at school; this experience they said would be a vital aspect in any UCAS form or for any job application which I was to fill out in the future. I could not agree more with the advice I was given! Volunteering definitely made my UCAS form easier to write and many interview questions easier to answer as I was able to provide real life examples of things I have participated in and skills I have learnt. 

At first I didn’t know where to look or what area I wanted to volunteer in but after a long think and a chat with my local Youth Office I decided on volunteering in a youth setting – this is an area that struggles to get volunteers in my local region. I went along to Bannside Youth Club and was warmly welcomed as a volunteer. I was introduced to staff members, had a tour of the facilities and was told about the activities that the young people participated in throughout the year. Over the following weeks I was then allowed to shadow Volunteers to see the different aspects of the youth club I could become involved in: Arts and Crafts, Games Hall, Tuck Shop, Trips etc.

After showing an interest in the games hall I was then allowed, under the supervision of my leader in charge, to supervise the games hall for one night to see how I would get on. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that night – I was handed a whistle and told I was in charge of leading games, talk about being thrown in at the deep end!! Having completed very little volunteering in the past, in fact it’s pretty safe to say I had completed none at all except for what I had completed in the previous weeks in shadowing, I was very nervous of this new adventure/challenge I was given, but I accepted it. With my legs shaking, my voice very quiet and not very many children responding, I knew then what I had to do…I had to step up to the mark, I had to become a youth leader the young people would look up to, I had to become their role model. So I took a deep breath, put on a loud voice and put into practice what I had seen the other Leaders do in previous weeks. After my two hour’s in charge I definitely knew volunteering in a Youth setting was the correct choice for me. I loved to see the smiles on the Young People’s faces when they participated in games I had chosen to facilitate for them – I knew I made their time worthwhile coming to youth club! I knew this experience would help me to come out of my shell – I wouldn’t be the quiet girl in the corner any more, I would be able to say things without being asked for my opinion all the time, I would be able to stand up for myself and most importantly I would be able to grow and develop and learn new skills just by interacting with new people.

As the weeks developed and my experience grew I then set myself a challenge to complete. I would leave the games hall and proceed down the building to the Arts and Crafts room to complete a project – we were going to make Mother’s Day baskets. This time my leader in charge felt I had built up my knowledge and confidence to facilitate this project on my own but that they would be there if I needed them. So out came the glue, the paper, the scissors, the glitter, the feathers, the sequences and my list could definitely go on – let’s just say there wasn’t much left in the cupboard! This was an enjoyable experience and another area I felt I could develop within the youth club.

The weeks and months have passed and I’m now entering my third year of volunteering with Bannside Youth Club and I have enhanced my knowledge and skills, I have facilitated more programmes and as a result have been able to gain qualifications – OCNNI Level 2 Introduction to Youth Work and OCNNI Level 3 Programme Development.

Through my experience of being a Youth Leader I am able to put myself forward to become Summer Scheme Leader. Again through this I have gained many qualifications and thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Since I have started to volunteer I have seen many new volunteering opportunities open up and as a result I have also become a member of the Community Rescue Service (CRS).  This opportunity came about after volunteering at the Big Splash event in Portglenone when I approached a CRS member to ask about their service. I was told that they are a voluntary Search and Rescue organisation with teams based throughout the province who are on call to search for missing people throughout Northern Ireland, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. The thought of helping families to be reunited with their missing loved ones intrigued me, I had to learn more. So I wasn’t the quiet girl any more, I was the one asking the questions. Becoming a Youth Club leader had certainly paid off! After asking more questions and increasing my knowledge about their voluntary service I was invited to attend a training session and learn some more.

The following Monday I arrived at the Marina in Portglenone ready for training. I was briefed on the CRS, who they were, what they did and was involved in their training exercise. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I found that I had a passion for helping others – youth club helped me to help the young people develop themselves and the CRS would allow me to help families to look for their missing loved ones. After completing my probation time to see if CRS was truly for me I filled out an application form and was accepted into the unit as a new member and the rest they say is history. 

I have been a member now for over a year, have completed competencies (good job I’m typing that word – I have problems saying it – usually get it on go number 3!) and have attained my Search and Rescue Technician (SARTech) Qualification which allows me to attend searches. During my time spent in the CRS I have been on many searches (unfortunately, not all have had a positive outcome) and have helped out on many events e.g. Portrush Air Show, Gig ‘n the Bann and Big Splash Festivals. I have learnt new skills that I would never have had the chance to learn e.g. radio communications, water safety, coxing a boat (the correct term for driving a boat) and have met new people and developed friendships.

The units get along as one large family and I look up to the members as the big brothers and sisters that I never had due to being the oldest sibling in my house. I hope to develop my knowledge and skills further and achieve more qualifications with the organisation.

Just to round this off I came across this poem and thought it summed up being a volunteer:

Why be a Volunteer?

It’s not for fortune,

It’s not for fame,

It’s not only for personal gain,

It’s not for love of fellow man,

Or just to lend a helping hand,

It’s not for medals worn with pride,

It’s for the feeling deep inside,

Of helping others far and near,

That makes you want to volunteer!

Just remember volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless!!

Gemma Mooney

As we approach Volunteers' Week 2013 Cookstown and Magherafelt Volunteer Centre are looking for volunteers and organisations to share their experience of volunteering via our blog. You can inspire others to get involved and bring a change to our local community.

Every writer is part of TEAM CMVC. We would love to feature you and/or your organisation!

So leave a comment below or email me barbara@cookstownmagherafeltvc.org