Volunteer and find your passion
Don't almost do it … do it now!
By Lynda Cookson
Mary (not her real name) got out of bed on this particular morning and most things were just the same … her knees still cracked their beat; her ankles needed a few minutes to warm up to full movement capacity; her body looked suspiciously like a ‘z’ as she hobbled along to the kitchen; and her hands were flapping about, trying to look inconspicuous as they touched on walls and banisters for balance. A familiar scene? Mary didn’t care …. as a volunteer worker in a local charity she knew her day would only get better.
Oxfam Ireland
I spoke with two volunteers, Cathleen Hawkshaw and Maura Roche, both in their late 60s, who spend time in the office at Oxfam Ireland. Cathleen helps to keep the accounts in order for two days every week. She says it’s an absolute joy to come in – ‘I miss the interaction with people from my working days and the conversations we have here are very important to me. We chat about the books we’ve read, often exchange books, and simply enjoy the satisfaction of a good conversation.’ Maura spends one day a week helping to check donor addresses on the computer, fill envelopes and handle some of the load of phone calls to donors. She’s happy to turn her hand to any vital office job and said: ‘This keeps me in touch with younger people and their way of life – which is so different to my life! I really enjoy the contact with them and it helps me to keep an open mind.’
Oxfam Ireland is committed to ending poverty and suffering in developing countries; promoting understanding of the causes of these injustices; and campaigning for a world where every man, woman and child can live free from hunger, poverty and oppression. They have opportunities for volunteers in their 45 shops and Oxfam garden initiative as well as for their campaigns and overseas projects.
Volunteering Ireland
Volunteering Ireland is a membership based organisation which promotes high quality voluntary activity, by encouraging organisations which involve volunteers to adopt good policy and practice, and by acting as a link between such organisations and individuals who wish to undertake meaningful voluntary work. They match individuals who wish to volunteer, with organisations which offer suitable volunteering opportunities.
As a support and advice group, if you wish to discuss any aspect of volunteering, however large or small, Volunteering Ireland are there to listen and to provide practical support. Their Charter for Effective Volunteering will advise and inform you of your rights as a volunteer.
On their website, they speak of the importance of passion; how volunteers will only do, in the long-term, what they believe to be meaningful; enthusiasm for the cause you choose is absolutely essential. ‘A shared passion within the organisation is the ultimate ‘glue’ of the group; without this, it will crumble. To ensure ongoing motivation, keep reminding yourself what the world would be like if the group did not exist.’
(Text missing.........) Enable Ireland
Enable Ireland is a leading national provider of services for children and adults with disabilities, and for their families. Many of the staff in the 19 retail shops are dedicated volunteers helping to raise vital funds. Money raised supports essential projects such as building new Services Centres, carrying out renovations, and building Hydrotherapy treatment pools.
Recently President Mary McAleese hosted a reception to acknowledge the contribution of volunteers who raise funds for charitable organisations under her patronage, and a selection of outstanding volunteers from each charity was invited to attend this symbolic event. Mary Gilmartin from Santry and May McNally from Drimnagh were among Enable Ireland’s nominated five volunteer representatives who met the President at the reception in Áras an Uachtaráin.
Mary Gilmartin has been an enthusiastic and committed collector for the annual Enable Ireland House-2-House collection for the past twelve years. May McNally is 84 years old, a widow with 12 children, and has worked as a volunteer in the Enable Ireland Camden Street Shop since the day it opened in July 1989. She is a regular volunteer from Monday to Friday and sets up the stock in the store room ready for shop opening each day. ‘It was a day with a difference’ said May ‘and I was delighted to meet the President and have such a lovely time at the Áras. It was a great surprise to be chosen to represent the work of Enable Ireland shop volunteers.’
Whatever your passion, whatever your interest, there is always a charity which will benefit from your input. As a starting point, if you have a computer, login to the Google.com search page, type in ‘Volunteering for the over 50s’ and sift through the sites that come up. Otherwise, pick up the phone and call the charity of your choice from those we have listed, or call Volunteering Ireland who will be only too happy to help you.