Lend a hand and make a difference

Charities, including Age UK Bromsgrove, Redditch and Wyre Forest, along with so many local groups and organisations, could not do what they do without the amazing support of volunteers.

However, with changing demographics and declining volunteer participation rates across the country, many are worried about the impact that this will have on our communities.

The Big Help Out campaign, which featured as part of the King’s Coronation celebrations, was launched to help highlight the importance and benefits of volunteering and to encourage more people to lend a hand and get involved in their communities.

People often have their own individual reasons for volunteering, but it is often said that by improving your community, you can also add value to your own experience within it. The following are often mentioned when volunteers are asked why they decided to get involved:

• The chance to give something back and to make a positive difference.

• The opportunity to gain new skills and experience.

• Meeting new people and making new connections.

• Wanting to feel valued and part of a team.

• To improve confidence and wellbeing - many of those that volunteer say that they get as much back as they give.

One of Age UK BRWF’s retail volunteers summarised her experience: “It has given me a new lease of life. The people I work with and the customers who come in, they are just so lovely. I can’t explain how good it is to be here and knowing that what you are doing is helping. I go home and feel happy inside.”

Like many organisations, Age UK BRWF offer a range of different volunteering opportunities, from supporting services like our befriending service (visiting or calling a local older person to help prevent and tackle loneliness and isolation) as well as our groups and activities, being part of our retail team (with a variety of roles in our charity shops and at our online sales and distribution hub), through to getting involved with the operation and running of the charity.

If you would like to find out more about any of our volunteering roles, please contact volunteer@ ageukbrwf.org.uk or call 01527 570490 . Alternatively, for details of a range of opportunities across Bromsgrove and Redditch, visit the local volunteer centre, BARN, at www.barn.org.uk/volunteering

As the Big Help Out campaign says, ‘Helping hands come in all shapes and sizes’, but they are all important - by linking those hands we make and strengthen those community connections and we really can make a difference.