I recently helped my local volunteer centre in Cheltenham with an "Instant Volunteering" event as part of national Make a Difference Day.
Here's the idea in a nutshell by Jo Brown, manager of Volunteering Gloucestershire:
"Volunteering is not necessarily about giving up lots of your time, there are many flexible ways to volunteer. People lead increasingly busy lives and it can be hard to find the time to get involved, popping along and giving 5 minutes of time will help make a massive difference and hopefully be lots of fun.'
And it was a lot of fun. British Red Cross gave resuscitation instruction. Children were making dog biscuits for the Animal Shelter as well as making cards to send to sick children. A representative from the local Timebank was there to give out time credits.
So, what did it achieve? On a directly practical level, quite a few people now know some more first aid skills and might go on to save a life. The dogs at the Animal Shelter will have a few more biscuits and some sick children will get some lovely cards.
Perhaps more importantly, it introduced people to volunteering in a low-intensity way and showed them that making a difference is within their reach...
So, what did it achieve? On a directly practical level, quite a few people now know some more first aid skills and might go on to save a life. The dogs at the Animal Shelter will have a few more biscuits and some sick children will get some lovely cards.
Perhaps more importantly, it introduced people to volunteering in a low-intensity way and showed them that making a difference is within their reach...
