Voluntary work

Voluntary work can be rewarding at any age and at any stage in your career path. The rewards to be gained from volunteering your time and energy can far outweigh any financial gain.

Benefits of Volunteering

Decision making

Voluntary work is an excellent approach to help you decide the type of career you wish to follow, no matter what your circumstances are.

Make friends

It is a great way of meeting new people and forge friendships whilst in a ‘working’ environment.

Confidence building

Volunteering work can be quite challenging and a useful way of overcoming hurdles, which in turn can increase confidence and self esteem.

Improve your CV

Employers recognise the value of voluntary work experience in terms of its ability to transfer existing skills as well as learn new ones. It can also demonstrate your initiative, commitment, motivation and your ability to work well as part of a team.

Networking

Voluntary work can help you network with others who might be in a position to turn your voluntary work into a paid career you’ll enjoy. It may be an opportunity to get the work experience you need to get a job.

Make a difference

Many people get great satisfaction from being able to help others who are less fortunate than themselves e.g. charitable organisations.

Health benefits

It can give you an increased sense of physical and mental well-being.

Win win

Voluntary work offers a ‘win-win’ situation in terms of benefits both to volunteers and to those they help.

Questions to ask yourself before volunteering

Volunteering can be one of the most positive things you can ever do. However it is not something to take on lightly and you should ask yourself a number of questions before you decide to go ahead with volunteering.

Time commitments

Consider how much time you can give, taking into account your other responsibilities such as any work, sport or family commitments.

Consider your skills

Assess your skills and find out which organisations could make good use of them while giving you experience which will help your career aspirations.

Travel and costs

If the location of the organisation is not on your doorstep, you are going to have to think about:

how you are going to get to and from the location?
how much it is going to cost and can you can reclaim travel expenses?

You can still volunteer if you are claiming benefits. Receiving volunteer expenses will not affect your benefits provided the expenses you receive only cover what you spent during the course of your volunteering. For more information speak with your benefits adviser.

Professional and flexible

Volunteers need to be flexible, adaptable and open to change. They must also display the same degree of professionalism as that of an employee.

What kind of work can I volunteer for?

There are many choices in the type of work available:

childcare
administration
advice work
animals
fundraising/flag days

You can work in a wide variety of settings including:

offices
horticulture
youth clubs
driving
hospitals
elderly care
sports facilities
mentoring
nature parks

The list is endless.

For more information, visit the volunteernow website where you can search for volunteer work available in your area by entering your postcode.

Volunteernow website

Volunteer and Gain Award

Millennium Volunteers is a national programme designed to promote and recognise volunteering among young people aged 16 to 24. Participants can achieve a ‘Fifty Hours Award’ by completing 50 hours of voluntary work.