Report transcript in: Molly's volunteering story

Please Report the Errrors?

great. So

thanks, Molly.

Uh, lovely to see you.

Um, I just wanted to get started by asking how how are you involved in volunteering?

So, uh, I work for Ground London, which is a community and environmental charity.

And ground work is a federation of different charities across the UK.

And I work for

London, which is the London based one.

And at ground London, we run a few different volunteering services.

Uh, and I am the project manager for the service in a

forest, which is called, uh, very romantically, the Legends of the forest.

Um, so,

uh,

the reason that that's called that is because

it began in the 2019 borough of culture.

Um, So Walton Forest was the first borough of culture

in London,

and the volunteering service for that programme

was called the Legends of the Forest.

Then we, uh, the legends of the forest became the kind of service

kind of so basically kind of the wrapping up and the

kind of discussions were happening in early 2020

it was like, How do we How do we transition this? What are the next steps?

And then, uh, everything changed very quickly.

and suddenly it became part of the kind of covid response

for a couple of years and going into the vaccination response.

And then from November 2021

when I joined the team. So this is a long preamble to your to your question.

But when I joined the team as a volunteer development coordinator,

um, it's sort of the service transition to being a traditional volunteer centre.

So my role, um,

is a lot about supporting organisations, uh,

to recruit volunteers and giving advice

on managing volunteers recruiting volunteers.

Uh, and then obviously now I'm the project manager.

So I oversee the whole programme, um, along with, uh,

my other colleagues who kind of deliver the the key bits of the service.

Uh, yes. So that is the how I am involved in volunteering.

And I've also in the past, uh, volunteered, uh,

in different sort of opportunities as well.

Can I ask what kind of things you've done? Volunteer.

So, uh, I've done a lot of volunteer being a volunteer usher at See Shows.

I was a volunteer at the Shakespeare's globe where this is quite a long time ago.

Now there was a production of Titus Andronicus,

Which is

that the one

with

the

the one with all the fainting

think I saw about,

I think about four or five people faint.

And

when people fainted, you had to go and get a wheelchair.

But it it became, like, so regular for someone to faint because, uh,

the production was incredibly,

uh, it was really good.

I didn't see a lot of it because I was on the eye out for people fainting.

But it's very, um,

it's sort of

Shakespeare play that is not as well known as some of the others.

The production of this was quite famously very, uh,

brutally graphic,

Uh, and also, if you've never been to the Shakespeare's globe,

there's a whole bit where people stand.

Uh, so there's like it's like like how it would have been in Shakespeare's time.

So there's people standing. If you've been on your feet all day, it's really hot.

And then there's someone

a lot of very graphic, bloody violence on stage.

Not the best combination in the world, it turns out, but it was a lot of fun,

and everyone was fine, you know, once they they were looked after carefully.

It's It's just so

bit of fainting is part of the course

of that production.

But it wasn't what you'd expected when you signed up to volunteer.

No, but it was quite exciting. I don't know. Being part of that is quite fun.

Uh, I've kind of volunteered, uh, a while ago with a refugee homework club,

which was really fun.

So on Saturday mornings,

uh, I've occasionally volunteered with food cycles, so I've done lots of, um,

which is food cycles where you come together and cook a meal,

Uh, using kind of donated food.

So I like trying out different opportunities and and seeing what, uh,

what's involved?

Do you think some of the

experience that you had

as a as a volunteer how did that help to shape your actual professional

volunteer development coordinator role?

It's, um definitely. I find that when I

am talking to people about volunteering and kind of think

about how I would appreciate it as a volunteer.

So,

uh, this is like a very petty thing,

but I hate having to download a word document,

edit it

and then re upload it and send it off like a vol.

This is a very specific example, but like volunteer application forms,

because I know that when you're looking to volunteer,

you kind of want to minimise the amount of admin.

And I think

it's not always

the best, the most admirable quality in in mine

and in me.

But I kind of dislike of having to do admin that feels fit,

fiddly or inefficient is a really,

um,

it's one of my little bug beds,

or it will be something that then falls down the If I can't do it straight away,

it will be on the bottom of my to do list because

I I'm like, Oh, I've got other things to think about so

often when I talk to people about volunteering something I and and

their process is going through and I sort of have to say,

I'll be honest with you

If I saw that I had to download a word document

right in the information, then upload it and resend it,

and I had to do that on my phone or, you know,

it was kind of a complicated thing. I definitely mean to do it at some point,

but it would it would fall down my list of my to do list.

So I tend to when I do volunteering things

pay attention to things I find annoying

or things that I find,

uh, are kind of a bit

awkward and sticky

and then say to to people kind of running organisations

What

what?

Why are they like that? And and where are those moments for volunteers?

And how can you communicate more effectively about those moments as well?

Because it might be, Oh, it has to be like this for this reason, but

volunteers don't know that. So it just feels bureaucratic.

So I tend to keep that kind of customer

awareness point on.

Um, yeah, So I think that's mainly it is that I Yeah, I,

I notice the things that annoy me.

Uh And then I try and communicate them to organisations,

uh to help them with kind of retaining volunteers and recruiting volunteers.

I think that sounds like a really valuable learning to to to bring to others.

Um,

so finally,

what would you say to somebody who's thinking about volunteering?

Um, I think if you're

thinking about volunteering, it's a really good, uh,

thing to think honestly about what you want to get out of it.

So sometimes I.

I like to try out lots of different things and do something different to my

everyday life. I tend not to mention

that my job involves managing or coordinating volunteers,

especially when it has previously, because

I don't actually want to do that as part of my volunteering,

Um, and so if, for example, you just wanna do something really short term,

there are lots of opportunities.

Uh, for that. If you want to do something longer term, you can also find that out.

You can find those kind of opportunities, but I think it's a good practise to

really be honest with yourself about how much time

you're able to commit because you don't want to.

For yourself,

go down a journey where you're putting a lot of time in the early stages,

and actually you don't really want to do it longer term.

And for the charity's point of view,

they probably you know, they don't want to invest a lot of time with you, um,

at the beginning. If you're not able to have that longer commitment and it's,

I think sometimes people feel kind of bad about not

being able to do the most challenging of roles,

But it's,

you know, you should be kind of thinking about

what you need as well, because actually,

it's It's not in the charity's interest to have someone who would like to be the kind

of person who's able to do a really challenging

role but actually isn't and that's completely OK.

I also think it is a really, um,

amazing thing to get together with other people and do things

and make a difference. Uh, and don't kind of underestimate that, um

whenever I

I think that's such a powerful thing. When

and we kind of live in a very isolated world, it's not an original thing to say,

but we kind of

more and more kind of isolated in our own bubbles.

And

it's very hard to break out of that because

we so much

of our life is about in, you know,

prioritising that individual comfort and your individual experience.

So you're really working against a lot of cultural conditioning,

but coming together with other people and and making a difference,

whether that's online or in person, and whether that's just a day or a longer term,

commitment

is really valuable. So you sort of have to trust

as you're kind of going. Oh, I could go home and sit on my sofa and watch my TV show.

That has been

the algorithm has found for me because they'll know I really like it.

And I have to walk in the rain to this thing that I don't know I'm gonna like.

And it's not going to be designed and perfect for me

and I. I feel that as much as anyone else. But when you're there,

it's such an intoxicating thing because we're

like, from cave people times

we're kind of meant to do and be,

do things together and work together to make something happen.

So it's a very, um

you sort of have to trust

that it will be. It will be, um, a great experience.

And that's thank you. And intoxicating a word to describe it.

Thanks, Molly. Is there anything else you wanted to add, or shall we say,

um,

I, I suppose. Just like, uh,

is there anything I want to add?

I think just I, um really love working in volunteering.

and I think

it's something we probably don't appreciate enough

is those people that get their time,

uh,

that there's a writer called,

oh.

I can't remember his name. Uh, sorry

if I quickly look it up.

Um,

uh, A

bit. Well,

so maybe

Yeah.

Sorry, I I Maybe I Maybe I can't find his name. Uh, quickly enough.

I don't think it's gonna work. So sorry about

that.

I can,

Um but I'll start again by just saying that basically, people who volunteer, um,

are kind of amazing. And I think we

it we obviously try and recognise and celebrate those people.

But people who give a lot of time to their community, I think,

are the kind of people that don't necessarily always want to be,

uh, a big celebration or a big appreciation.

But,

uh, I think that there are so many kind of, uh, systems and pro, uh, things that

people fall through would fall through the cracks If there

weren't those people who really dedicated to giving their time

and working a volunteer.

You do just meet people all the time who are sort of amazing,

but would never think of themselves as being amazing,

but just choose to help other people.

So,

yeah, that's what I'd like to end on. Thank you.

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Author

struthyb

Post date

21/08/2023