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Voluntary Work

Voluntary work comes in many different forms

People may think that voluntary work is confined to working in a charity shop yet it is a whole lot more varied, and comes in lots of different guises. Having said that there can still be a wide variety of tasks and roles for those who volunteer in charity shops ( For instance, people can volunteer to sort bric a brac, books or clothes. Volunteers can also spend all day serving customers on a till.

Charities often have voluntary positions away from the shop floor. For instance, people could volunteer to work in an office doing general administration work, get involved in volunteer recruitment campaigns, or take part in media campaigns.

There can often be voluntary positions available in community groups or organisations as well as charities, for example Scouts, Guides and local sports clubs ( Some people spend their spare time as youth leaders or sports coaches after they have finished their paid job for the day.

Why do people do voluntary work?

People carry out voluntary work for a variety of reasons:

* They do it to fill their spare time for instance if they are retired

* To make things better within their local community, to help others that need it

* To support causes they are passionate about or believe in

* Improve their skills or to learn new things

* Up to date work experience and have something to put on their CV (school leavers and university students)

* To go out and meet people, or to help others do things

Sometimes people will do voluntary work for a mixture of reasons, some to help themselves and some to help charities or good causes. Often people find that they enjoy voluntary work more than they thought they ever would.

The benefits of carrying out voluntary work

People often find that carrying out voluntary work can benefit themselves and others ( Such benefits include:

* Vulnerable groups and individuals gain more help from charities

* Charities are able to support more people who need their help or services

* Volunteers learn new skills and gain more experience making them more employable

* More activities are carried out in local communities such as youth groups and amateur sporting events

* It brings different parts of the local community together

* Provides volunteers with a sense of achievement while assisting vulnerable people

* Just a few hours of volunteering every week can make a real difference to the lives of others

Do something worthwhile – volunteer

While many people have to concentrate on earning a living for themselves, others are in a better position to do voluntary work. So people that have a few hours to spare each work could look into helping a local charity, community group or good cause. Even if it is sorting books once a fortnight, or baking cakes for a charity coffee morning it could make a real difference for somebody, somewhere.

The chances are high that there is some cause or group that people will be able to help out near to where they live, work or where their children go to school.