Voluntary work

hunt85

Hi all I work full time in a bank (boooo!) but feel I want to give something back - have a useful "hobby" so i've applied to some charities to do some voluntary work for example childline and the samaritans (i don't think i'd be so good face to face so i've gone down the telephone route) anyone else have experience with this type of voluntary work and any hints & tips of what I should expect? thanks

dandelionclock30

One of my friends used to work for the Samaritans and found it quite tough emotionally.She said that the things that surpised her the most were that women used to ring up and talk really sexually inappropriatley to her and be getting a kick out of doing so! She did this because she wanted to help people in distress as she was a trainer at RBS in her proper job. What she thought it would be like and what it was like were 2 different things.
She stuck with it though, so she must have got something out of it.

tomjonesrules

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

One of my friends used to work for the Samaritans and found it quite tough emotionally.She said that the things that surpised her the most were that women used to ring up and talk really sexually inappropriatley to her and be getting a kick out of doing so! She did this because she wanted to help people in distress as she was a trainer at RBS in her proper job. What she thought it would be like and what it was like were 2 different things.
She stuck with it though, so she must have got something out of it.

Any kind of phone based work will attract some unsuitable calls, but they are a distinct minority, and that should not take away from the many more people that use the service for legitimate reasons.

OP, have a look at this website, you can search for volunteering opportunities in your area. Even if you feel your face to face skills are not that good at the moment, perhaps you could find something that would help you work on this in a supportive environment? I've just emailed about helping at a homework club, as I prefer working with younger people. Lots to choose from, good luck with whatever you decide.

http://www.do-it.org.uk/

hunt85

thank you for the link - I'm not good with kids (i'm 26 and i don't have any of my own!) but I am good with the elderly as I deal with them alot at work and also have cared alot for elderly people in my family so maybe I could look at that side of things.

I am prepared for unsuitable calls! I am tough and I know that side of things won't bother me, just a thank you very much bye bye would end that! i look forward to actually helping someone who really needs it. I just hope they can give me some things to do outside of my working hours.

saterkey

I help out at the cats protection local one, and found they do things outside of work hours, so although im part time at the mo, i can carry on with it whatever hours i do. I attend a monthly meeting although thats optional, it does get you to know whats going on better and see more faces. Help out with fundraising events and evenings which include social get togethers so the evening is more fun than just attending because you feel involved. They let us know how much weve raised and whats its going to so you have that good feeling too. I dont tend to do tin shakes, its your preference what you do or how much you do, good luck i think everyone should do a little bit of volunteering whatever it may be. It can be different from branch to branch though, so try and pick an active group with an up to date website.

Racheldevon

Hi,

The training for both is good in comparison to some volunteering roles, there is usually a general, informal introductory session so you can find out more about what it might involve and to help you decide if it's for you. The Do it site is a good starting point to explore other things that might interest you, you may also have a local CVS service where you can meet /speak on the phone with with someone to discuss the type of opportunities locally. Our local paper also has a weekly column with organisations requesting particular roles they have for volunteers. Bets of luck

Errata

One thing voluntary organisations and local charities are always screaming out for is a treasurer and anyone who volunteers to take on that role is worth their weight in gold. It's the one job that vanishingly few volunteers want to do.

NiallB

tomjonesrules wrote: »

Any kind of phone based work will attract some unsuitable calls, but they are a distinct minority, and that should not take away from the many more people that use the service for legitimate reasons.

A friend of mine used to volunteer with the Samaritans. Any sex calls were met with "I'm just going to transfer you to Agnes"

Big Aggie was 80 years old and took no prisoners. They were generally off the phone within 30 seconds of her starting on them

Errata

My understanding is that all Samaritan branches have call handlers who have had extra training to deal with 'sex' callers and the caller is immediately transfered to them. The Samaritans don't treat them as pests, but understand that they too have problems and deal with them sensitively.