My Volunteering Story – Eve
How long have you been volunteering for Mind in Mid Herts? How did you hear about them?
I got back into contact with Mind in Mid Herts at the start of lockdown and have been volunteering for around 9 months now. I’d of course heard about the charity ‘Mind’ before from many places but while I was doing A levels I did work experience at the St Albans centre, helping to run and take part in the various groups they put on for users, so I was familiar with the work they do from doing work here previously.
What made you want to join and help?
When the pandemic hit I knew that a lot of people would be struggling with their mental health, and those living alone would have no one to turn to for support. I got back in contact just to see if there was anything that I could do in terms of volunteering to help those people who were struggling throughout lockdown.
How often do you volunteer for the project and do you balance this with work or other commitments?
I volunteer doing ‘keep in touch calls’ once a week for a 3 hour shift on a Friday morning. I’m also currently completing a degree in psychology. Part of the reason I only do one shift is because my week is usually very busy, but I don’t find that 3 hours out of one day of the week gets in the way of my study and I find it very worthwhile. It is at the same time every week so I’m able to plan any other things I want to get done around volunteering quite easily.
Why are volunteers so important?
Volunteering is important because of the difference it makes to other peoples lives. A lot of the people I speak to weekly don’t have a lot of family or speak to many people and really appreciate even just a short conversation as this might be the only contact they get that day. Ive had a lot of the users that I call say how grateful they are for my calls and how much they look forward to it every week. I think that taking some time out of your day to make another person even slightly better on a down day is a worthwhile thing to do.
Why would you recommend people to volunteer?
I would recommend other people to volunteer because not only does it make other peoples day, but it gives you the chance to speak to so many people who all have different stories to tell! It’s been lovely getting to know some people as we speak weekly. It also doesn’t have to be strenuous or take up much time at all so if you can spare a few hours I would say its definitely worth it.
Posted on: 18th May 2021
