“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” – Jim Watkins
A river cuts through rock ….
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Author Archives: volunteer
Four reasons why people volunteer – what’s yours?
Why do people volunteer? Or why should someone who’s never volunteered try it? The truth is, there isn’t one single convincing answer to this question. Here are some interesting ideas:
http://blog.vinspired.com/everyone-has-their-reasons-for-volunteering-whats-yours
Running on top of the world
Originally published in the BBC “My Story” competition, Linda relives the emotions of organising her first charity running race – with flashbacks to her first race as a runner
The school field is an ocean of bodies, bobbing and stretching. Is this what 750 people look like? I’m as nervous as they are. More nervous. I’m the reason they are all here. The sun is shining and it is the Saturday before the London Marathon in April 2007.
Two years earlier, the High Street was closed and we were all standing in the middle of the road. My tummy was fluttering and my limbs were chilly. “I’ll start near the back of the pack as I’ve never done this before.” I told myself that no-one was looking at me in that crowd. Me, in my unfashionably baggy shorts. The smell all around of deep heat had cleared my nose and was now nauseating me. We started to squash forward in anticipation even thought nothing had happened. And then muffled words spewed out of a megaphone and we were off.
The ocean of people is lapping round me and asking me questions “Where’s the start?” “When’s the briefing?” I’m drowning! I seem to be the only fluorescent-clad official on the field and they are closing in on me. And my marshals, nervous too, are phoning me in relays to tell me they are ready out on the course. I glance at my watch and scan my plan, pages going crinkly in my sweaty hand. I need to get out to the start area. Here comes the flood of bodies, warmed up, briefed and raring to go.
“Start slow,” was my mantra. And I did. Before long there was just me and a couple of old biddies wearing running club vests and they were having a chat about their holidays. A sage marshal at the first big junction stopped the traffic for me “Well done love, keep going and you’ll get a personal best today!”
“Three, two, one, go” and the 10k runners surge past in a long stream and the 4k runners drift up to the line waiting for their start. Keen teenagers, a sea of blue race t-shirts, in the front row; unfit mums and dads, running for the cause, linger at the back.
The lady in front of me had flapping laces; she stopped to tie them and I overtook her, yay not last any-more! After about 8k I felt a bit wobbly and walked a few paces but that felt worse. The marshals all smiled and cheered me on. They knew I was one of the last and I needed encouraging. And they knew they had nearly finished their jobs and could go home soon.
I feel relief as the starts pass without incident or drama. But in less than 20 minutes the 4k runners will be finishing – are we ready? There is a bonanza of goody bags and a forest of bananas and another flight of marshals standing by ready for the tidal wave of finishers. Meanwhile, the younger children’s fun runs are rolling along on the running track. I can hear the PA system echoing around the field as the little athletes collect their prizes.
My final 500m felt good although I had to push my way past early finishers walking home. I felt tearfully euphoric as a finishing marshal urged me across the line before the clock ticked on another minute. Someone thrust a bottle of sports drink in my hand and I downed it in one.
It’s high tide on the school field again. My ocean of faces is smiling now. They are finding their friends and family, comparing their times and telling their stories. Waves of clapping are crashing all around me and I’m beginning to rise on the positive vibes. The marshals are drifting back, and I’m hugged and hand-shaken. They tell tales of grateful runners and a morning well spent. They bring back the luminous flotsam of signs and bibs, in a tangled net of red and white tape.
I’d done my first 10k. I hadn’t trained for it – I didn’t even know about training. My result was a triumph of determination over preparation. It hurt for 9.5k but I wanted to do another one.
The runners and helpers disappear – quickly like the tide ebbing over a flat sandy beach. Six months of risk assessments and planning meetings, e-mails and talks with the aristocratic landowner to set this up: and the races were all over in a splash. It’s just two years since I’d run my first race, and today I’d organised one. I’d brought together a team of 75 to make it work – and 750 people had gone home having had a good time. I was running on top of the world!
Postscript: The Clandon Park Run (www.clandonparkrun.co.uk) is now in its 6th year and has so far raised more than £50,000 for charity. The next event is on 21st April 2012.
We make a living by what we get …
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“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Winston Churchill
Should volunteering be made compulsory to those on Job Seekers Allowance?
Isn’t compulsory volunteering an oxymoron???
What’s better for job seekers – Poundland, or quality volunteering?
Job seekers who shunned voluntary scheme forced to do unpaid work
The most effective way to lose a volunteer
I’ve worked with volunteers for the last 20 years. I understand that people are motivated in many different ways depending on their personality and circumstances. However, there is one very effective way to demotivate a volunteer: And that is to criticise them. Have a go at them. Unconstructively is bad. In public is worst. Do this and they will be off faster than a 10 year-old sprinter.
As a volunteer manager, I think you need to put your volunteers first and treat them professionally and courteously – even if you yourself are a volunteer. They may not actually know you are a volunteer but you mustn’t forget that they are. Volunteers need organising but definitely not bossing about. And be friendly – would you want to work alongside someone who was grumpy? If something doesn’t work out, leave graciously and the door might be open next time.
But what if you really do want to get rid of a volunteer? Just as Fettes Management talk about “Three types of people to fire”, you don’t want to be saddled with victims, nonbelievers, or know-it-alls either. If you are unlucky enough to acquire an energy-sapping, non-contributing volunteer who is upsetting others you have to take action. Just like in the paid business world you have to recognise this and fire them – or at least give them a firm, but private, thank you and goodbye.
Have you ever been treated badly when you were volunteering?
I’m a volunteer and these are my values:
I choose…
to live by choice, not by chance;
to make changes, not excuses;
to be motivated, not manipulated;
to be useful, not used;
to excel, not compete.
I choose self-esteem, not self pity.
I choose to listen to my inner voice,
not the random opinion of others.
I choose to volunteer
To all my volunteers
I just want to say you drive me forward. I do what I do because of you. Your loyalty, your support and the satisfaction of working with you keeps me going more than the end result. I am immensely proud of what we achieve. Sometimes it feels that there is so much left undone but if you look at where we are now, you can see how far we have come. So thank you to all of you. Thank you for your commitment and dedication. I would be nowhere without you.
Linda
If you are one of my volunteers (or if this strikes a chord anyway) please leave a comment below.
Do you have enough time to change the world?
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. Andy Warhol
Be the change you want to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi
Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. H. Jackson Brown, Jr
How can you get a job without having an interview?
Here is the first of two real life examples to help answer that question.
Freshly repatriated from abroad, I found myself unable to return to my previous career. While abroad, like many of the “trailing spouses” I had engaged my brain in voluntary work and for several years I had been an editor. This role kept my computer skills up to date at a time when things were changing fast. On returning to the UK, I was welcomed with open arms at the local primary school when I offered to help in computer lessons. From there I became the official photographer and went on to build a website for the school – all as a volunteer. Little did I know at the time, but these skills were going to be a ticket to a new career direction.
First of all, though, I had to do my apprenticeship. I started teaching basic computer skills to career-break-returners – mostly mums who had been out of the workplace for a while. So ironically, there I was, also in my first job after a break, teaching other adults skills that I’d learnt as a volunteer. At this point, things were going really well and I embarked on the next level of teacher training. And while I was on the training course, one of the tutors spotted me. They noticed that I had previously taught English as a foreign language, while abroad, and was now teaching IT. This was a combination of skills the college had been seeking for some time. On the strength of this they offered me a great job – teaching IT to international students on university foundation courses. And so without even looking, I had landed myself my next post where I spent several satisfying years working with ambitious and interesting young people.
Can you get a job without having an interview? Well, I did. In fact, I’ve never had a job interview! Apart from my first job after university I have not applied for anything I have ever done. All my work has come my way, directly or indirectly, as a result of my volunteering. I’ve made career changes by getting to know people, by people finding out about me by word of mouth and by being in the right place at the right time.
For some other ideas, take a look at Volunteer your time, you may find a job
What useful skills have you learnt as a volunteer? Please leave a comment and tell me.