How do our staff volunteer?
As a charity, we understand and value the role that volunteers play in our operations. They allow us to help as many people as possible and achieve our goals of building better lives.
The desire to help the wider community resonates strongly with our staff, with many volunteering for other organisations in their free time. This aligns with our value of ‘Making a Difference’ and we are so proud to see that members of our team are having a positive impact on society outside of their working day.
Volunteering also has great social benefits for individuals who give their time to support others. Research carried out by Goodgym, a charity we have helped fund, found that volunteering can significantly reduce mental distress and loneliness, and increase life satisfaction, connectedness and build a sense of belonging.
This week is the 40th anniversary of Volunteers’ Week, so we are featuring three members of staff who volunteer and what motivates them to do so.
Ellie – Charity Grants
Ellie is a member of our Charity Grants team, where she helps decide on how we are going to assist charities through our Grants programmes.
She has been volunteering, on and off, since she was 18 years old and it was very fulfilling for her. Moreover, it helped her gain valuable skills and experience for a career in the third sector.
‘It helped me realise that I wanted to work in the charity sector long term’ said Ellie.
Gareth – Masonic Support
Gareth is the Head of our Masonic Support team, where he oversees how we support our Freemasonry community.
Since his children were young, he has been volunteering for the National Childbirth Trust, where he has been helping with their sales in his local area.
This involves helping to set up the sales in a local secondary school hall, building rails and putting up tables, setting up tills to handle all the purchases. The sales are a great way of raising money for the NCT to support parents locally and for parents to access excellent second hand clothing, equipment and toys at affordable prices.
‘The sales provide a great friendly team environment which I love. It’s for a good cause and I personally I have enjoyed the physical work as a welcome break from my normal routine of desk and screen’ said Gareth.
Fiona – Masonic Support
Fiona is a part of the Masonic Support (Grants) team, where she helps to distribute the support we offer to the Freemasonry community.
She plays an integral role in her local church, where they run an educational support programme in Mozambique. It has been running for 18 years and covers the cost of schooling for children.
Fiona has seen success through her volunteering, as her church is currently funding the education of over 100 school pupils and are also supporting two Further Education students, who are about to qualify as medical technicians.
‘This is a life-changing and life-enhancing project, not just for our friends in Mozambique, but also for everyone who supports the programme. I’ve had the privilege of visiting the community four times, most recently in 2023’ said Fiona.
