After a weekend at a music festival, NCVS Volunteering Development Officer Dave Thomas went to meet a lively and enthusiastic group of women at St Ann’s Valley Centre on Monday morning. They are part of a learning group organised by the Muslim Women’s Network. Here's his summary from the event.
I spoke to them about volunteering, only to realise that the group members already had over a century of volunteering experience between them.
We had a most interesting discussion about their understanding of charity and volunteering. We agreed that we would much prefer to volunteer for an organisation or an opportunity aligned with a cause we are already passionate about.
There’s a real lesson here for organisations that want to involve volunteers: appeal to cause-based motivation rather than merely setting out a list of tasks. Our discussion around the phrase "What’s in it for me?" was one of the morning’s highlights.
Within the group, this included support for refugees and asylum seekers, teaching English to speakers of other languages, and providing translation services. There was also a strong desire to tackle poverty and isolation.
We also chatted about the potential barriers they might face in getting involved in volunteering.
I shared the NCVS website Search for Opportunities as a great resource for finding nearly 300 volunteering opportunities. Additionally, I extended an invitation to make direct contact with me for support in finding the right opportunity for each member of the group.
If you'd like to find out more about volunteering, take a look at our Volunteering web page, you can also email Dave directly at davet@nottinghamcvs.co.uk.
