Volunteering is a great way to share your life experience and skills, whilst making a contribution in your local community. It’s also a brilliant way to meet new friends and even discover talents you never knew you had! If you have some time to spare and would like to make a difference to the lives of people in your community, The Bureau would love to hear from you.

People choose to volunteer for a variety of reasons. For some it offers the chance to give something back to the community or make a difference to the people around them. For others it provides an opportunity to develop new skills or built on existing experience and knowledge. Regardless of the motivation, what unites them all is that they find it both challenging and rewarding.

Check out NCVO’s ‘Where Volunteering Begins’ campaign video, telling five inspirational stories from ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

For some, volunteering provides an opportunity to:

• give something back to an organisation that has impacted on a person’s life, either directly or indirectly
• make a difference to the lives of others
• help the environment
• help others less fortunate or without a voice
• feel valued and part of a team
• spend quality time away from work or a busy lifestyle
• gain confidence and self-esteem.

For others, volunteering can be a route to employment, or a chance to try something new which may lead to a career change. From this perspective, volunteering can be a way of:

• gaining new skills, knowledge and experience
• developing existing skills and knowledge
• enhancing a CV
• improving one’s employment prospects
• gaining an accreditation
• using one’s professional skills and knowledge to benefit others (usually described as pro bono).

But for many, volunteering appeals because of the social benefits. These include:

• meeting new people and making new friends
• a chance to socialise
• getting to know the local community