This blog has been inspired by Rob Preston, a senior reporter at Charity Finance Magazine and the author of a recent article highlighting that fewer people are volunteering.

The article (Fewer people volunteering, says DCMS survey), highlights that only 36 per cent of people volunteered at least once in the year to March 2019. The lowest level recorded by the survey, which was run by The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport. However, here at TeamKinetic we are committed to knocking down those barriers!

Childcare issues

I know from being a parent myself looking after your child can be, to say the least, a tiring task. However, it is highly enjoyable, especially if you love playing with Lego as much as they do!

Childcare constraints do not need to stop you from volunteering, many volunteering opportunities can be done with your children.

MCRVIP has many child-friendly opportunities around the city like the cleaner city opportunity and the park maintenance opportunity, these are just two examples of where you and your children could volunteer and bond together. Not only is this something to do instead of being housebound but, it teaches the children the importance of volunteering and giving back to your community.

Having an illness or disability

Never let a disability hold you back, is the advice from Nicola Taylor, who didn’t let her disability get in the way of what she wanted to achieve in volunteering.

“I have cerebral palsy and am a wheelchair user. I felt very isolated as I had no social outlet. Previously I was invited to a presentation evening with Volunteering Matters and started talking to Mandy, from the SAFE project. About doing some volunteering for the project with her as I wanted to do something for myself and help others.

I have a particular interest in working with those with autism spectrum disorder as I have a nephew who is on the spectrum. When Mandy told me she would be starting a group with girls from the integrated autism service, I was very keen but felt there  might  be a financial impact as I would have to get an accessible taxi from my home. However, Mandy assured me that Volunteering Matters would cover the travel expenses – and that the venue would have disability access.

I am now co-facilitating the group and love it! I am helping others receive important messages and  love seeing them gaining confidence week by week. Volunteering has helped me a lot; I feel pretty good about myself and I have also learned a lot from the workshops. I am keen to learn more and help out at further workshops in the future.”

Nicola Taylor

I hope Nicola’s story can inspire people to give volunteering a go. Volunteering has made a life-changing impact on Nicola’s life and It might just be able to do the same to yours.

Study commitments

Being a student myself I know the workload can be high, especially around deadline dates. So I understand finding spare time can be difficult. However, I recently got to chat with the successful student and volunteer El Afzal. El has been volunteering for quite some time now, some would say she’s a bit of a volunteering athlete!

How did you get into volunteering whilst at university? 

“Through my tutors on my course (Event Management), and also through the MMU Sports TeamKinetic portal. I had very little experience in Events and really wanted to give myself the best start to my university time and career. My tutor guided me to a matchday volunteering with Manchester Futsal, running the reception and ticketing on matchdays. And I found my own volunteering through TeamKinetic where I volunteered at BUTL (British University Taekwondo League) UK Regional Taekwondo championships.”

How do you manage Studying and Volunteering at the same time? 

“Despite most of it being linked to my degree and my career goals, I find the volunteering I’m doing to be my downtime. I have such a variety of volunteering under my belt that now I know what I’ll enjoy, and what will help me relax. So the first week of every month I go to Desert Island Discs with Manchester Cares in Ancoats, and have a brew with older neighbours and laugh and dance to some music. Or having post-match wings and drinks with Manchester Futsal team is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I do make sure that with my studying I have at least one evening off working and revision to do something I enjoy and that makes me feel happy, it helps keep a balance and stop me from getting too bogged down.”

Do you feel volunteering whilst being at university has helped you, and if so why?

“Yes, definitely! Volunteering has opened a lot of doors for me. It’s led me onto new roles in organisations I already volunteered at which has led to further job offers.

Volunteering genuinely has helped me develop some vital skills and industry knowledge which I needed. Also, it’s a fantastic way of naturally networking with others; I’ve had fellow volunteers wanting to help and offer introductions and work experience/internships with people they know.”

What would you say to any student who is studying at university but is apprehensive about volunteering? 

“I’d say to do some research and find a role you actually want. Don’t volunteer somewhere if it doesn’t interest you because you won’t get as much out of it. Try looking at something that could fit your current skill set, or is with a company/charity you actually want to work with. But volunteering is more rewarding the more you put in, so you have to go in and be willing to get out of your comfort zone. So research, apply, enjoy and get stuck in!”

Never considered it or not aware of groups that need help

Many people don’t really know how they can get involved in volunteering, it can be on your doorstep, or abroad. Many just have never given it a second thought. But I hope I can enlighten a few people to give volunteering a go, all you need is your laptop, mobile or tablet to get started on your first opportunity near you. Here are a handful of sites which could kick start your volunteering opportunities.

Your local city or town council is the perfect place to start. Your council website will additionally assist you in being able to volunteer locally. For first time volunteers, I would highly recommend trying your council’s website as your first call to action.

You may not have realised it yet but local accredited volunteer centres are everywhere. They’re an excellent way for first-time volunteers to get involved, by understanding your interests they can match you with suitable volunteering opportunities.

TryVolunteering.com ran by us here at TeamKinetic, encourages all people from all walks of life to get involved in volunteering. TryVolunteering.com also allows people to set up accounts as opportunity providers, providers can then advertise volunteering opportunities – but don’t worry its all FREE!

Don’t just do it for yourself, do it for someone else. That’s the true motivation behind volunteering. Do-it.org connecting volunteers to volunteering opportunities from all around the country.

Charity Job is the UK’s largest site for charity jobs and volunteering. Thousands of positions can be found up and down the UK, no matter your location there will be something near you.

A final note from TeamKinetic

Life can throw up many barriers, some of which are hard to get over and may challenge us along our paths. But it’s the journey of how we get over these barriers and what we can learn from climbing over them. The secret is passion. Martin Luther King said, “A man who has not found something he is willing to die for, is not fit to live.” Perhaps an extreme sentiment, however, the point is very clear. We all must find a passion in life which we care about more than ourselves; this will give you the motivation, and inspiration to do more in life. Your passion may be volunteering and helping to improve other peoples lives; whatever it maybe it doesn’t matter, as long as your passionate – then you can overcome anything.