If you have a little spare time each week or month it can be nice to look into ways you can give back to others. I have done different types of volunteering in the past and it’s a really fun and worthwhile thing to get into. However, I know it can be hard to know what volunteering opportunities to look for so I wanted to share with you the places I have found volunteering placements in the past.
Big Organisations
Big organisations like Age UK can help to get you in touch with older people in your area, who may need a phone friend or someone to do some shopping with. Age UK work with Age Mobility UK to give older people more freedom and accessibility in their home, which is great but that doesn’t mean they don’t need support. There are different mobility products open to older people who want to stay in their own homes and it may even be as part of your volunteering that you are asked to support them in investigating their options. You’ll be glad to know there are lots of choices – walk-in baths, showers with seats and stairlifts are all popular choices. Much like the support, you’ll be able to offer through volunteering, these pieces of furniture can help an older person live a fulfilled life in their own home.
Look Local
When I moved to Hampshire, I used volunteering as a way to try and meet some new people. I helped out in a local charity shop, behind the tills and sorting out stock, it was nice and varied and I got to talk to different local people each day.
Unfortunately for me, a couple of months after I started we went into national lockdown so I wasn’t able to help as much as I would have liked. However, finding out about local volunteering opportunities was easy – I just looked at local Facebook community groups which helped push me in the right direction. I have every intention of getting back into volunteering as it was certainly something beneficial.
Digital Options
I know many people will be considering what volunteering they can do when working from home and there are lots. Many years ago I helped to put together a local newsletter and this just meant typing up articles and helping with proofreading articles, as well as running their Facebook page – so right up my street. Again, I found this by looking for organisations online and contacting them to see what help they might need that I could give them.
For me, volunteering is doing something small to help someone else have a better time. We all go through good and bad times, so if I can help someone out when life is good then all the better.
Have you ever volunteered? What did you?
Debz x
*Collaborative post
Debz Louise is a plus-size blogger based in Yorkshire. Behind many nationwide campaigns such as #WeaAreTheThey & winner of Best Blogger at the UK Plus Size Awards, she talkas about life as a plus-size 40-something woman in South Yorkshire.
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