If you've been thinking about volunteering for a while, it can sometimes seem overwhelming. There are a lot of opportunities out there with some being long term (sometimes frighteningly so!) and others just one day or one half-day events. So for any new volunteers out there, here's some hints and tips that have worked for me.
1. Know what you want to get out of it: Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting you to write a detailed 5 year plan but people can end up unhappy in a volunteer post if they don't think about what they want out of it first. It might be that you just want to do something fun, interesting and gather up a few stories to tell the grandkids in the process. If that's the case probably large scale event volunteering would be good for you to look into, whether that be something huge and sexy like the Olympics, or whether that be a 10k event in a nearby city. If you are looking to make new friends and have something regular to fill your time then there are plenty of opportunities for this, too. Charity shops are always looking for regular volunteers, of course, but there can be plenty of other opportunities such as hospitals looking for people to chat to patients who are receiving palliative care. You might be looking for something more focussed and either wanting to up skill or gain experience in a particular field. This is particularly useful for those who are looking to change careers or who are preparing to leave school or university and want some valuable experience and perhaps an extra reference or two.
2. Know what you have to offer: You might have a very specific skill set that could be put to use somewhere such as I.T. skills, counselling skills or finance skills. For some fields knowledge of the arts, music or heritage could be useful and for other volunteer posts a friendly manner and a "can do" attitude are essential. For big events such as the Olympics the chances are that you might end up in a role that doesn't use your skill set particularly but for smaller organisations knowing what you can offer is vital. Volunteering posts can sometimes be limited and it can be competitive to get a role at times, so you need to be able to sell yourself.
3. Know what you are willing to commit: This applies to both time and money! Many volunteers are shocked when they realise the cost of volunteering, especially at major events, but the truth is that very few volunteering opportunities are free. At the very least, you'll normally be expected to pay your travel expenses which, of course, can be cheap or free if the post is very local. Some organisations will reimburse you for travel but these are few and far between so it can't be counted on. For events such as the Olympics, there will be a lot of travelling to and fro for training and uniform collection before the games and then, of course, the cost of travel and accommodation during the games. I've been involved in youth work volunteering where I've easily spent hundreds of pounds over the course of a year buying equipment for the kids, for myself, bailing kids out when they run out of money at camp etc. If you have doubts about what things will cost, ask the relevant questions at the outset. What travelling will be expected of you? Will they reimburse travel? Are you expected to provide any equipment? Are you expected to pay for any additional expenses such as the cost of joining the PVG scheme or any insurance costs? Another issue to be wary of is if you use your car for your volunteering as this might mean an increase in your insurance costs. Always remember to inform your car insurance provider!
The other big thing to consider is what time you can commit. Be honest with yourself and whoever you are volunteering for. If you genuinely know that you can't provide the time that they need, say so. It might mean losing out on the opportunity to volunteer with them but it'll only cause bad blood if you take on a post that you can't commit to. One-off events are easy to accommodate but longer term posts might ask for one day a week or more. Many youth organisations also expect you to be available for camps some weekends or over a week or two during the summer. Make sure you find out in advance because if you can't commit to this, it might mean some or all kids missing out on their annual camp.
4. Know where to look: There are excellent general resources out there like Volunteer Scotland that list various opportunities for volunteering and sites like this are a great starting point to see if you find anything that inspires you. The great thing about volunteering is that you tend to find more opportunities the more that you do. You'll develop a network of friends who are keen volunteers and they'll share any opportunities they know of with you.
Of course, if you have a charity or organisation that is particularly dear to you, you can contact them directly and ask about volunteering with them.
For more specific experiences it is best to be proactive. If you want experience in arts or heritage, there may well be advertised vacancies on organisation or council webpages but there may not. This is where knowing your strengths is vital. Contact organisations directly detailing your skill set and asking if there would be any suitable volunteering vacancies for you. It goes without saying that large, well-known institutions can be saturated with volunteers and you might get turned down, so it is worth looking at local museums, arts companies etc.
5. Let them know what you want: Finally, don't be afraid to let the organisation know what you want. Obviously large event organisers can't personalise your experience and you just have to go with the flow but if you are going to volunteer regularly with a smaller organisation and would like specific experiences at some point or would like to have a reference a few months down the line, make that known to them. If it is vital for you that you get a reference or a specific type of experience, it might even be worth asking for them to promise you it in writing.
I have had one particularly bad experience myself on this front when I was volunteering for a museum. My contact had verbally mentioned that she would give me a reference but after months of volunteering at various events at considerable expense to myself, I was refused a reference on the grounds that references were never given to volunteers. I was made to feel affronted for asking but also felt used by the organisation. Eventually, after speaking to other volunteers, I realised that they had been in the same boat and after verbal promises, the person in question had done a U-turn when it came time to actually deliver the references. Understandably, it left a bad taste in my mouth and the reference was quite important for me and so it left me in a bad way in terms of getting future employment in the field. I had to start from scratch gaining experience in a different museum.
Good luck finding volunteering placements. Remember to have fun, put in the effort and within a short time, you'll be seeing gains from your experiences!
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