Volunteering is the next big thing

Volunteer and change your life

Volunteering has been a big part of the "your choice, your community" project in Adult Services. So, now that the project is coming to an end, we were keen to make sure that all our ideas would be carried forward.

We contacted colleagues in different council services who we know work with volunteers, as well as Kirklees Primary Care Trust and Voluntary Action Kirklees, and got everyone together. We all got the chance to explain how our service works with volunteers, and we were amazed to learn how many different volunteering opportunities there are across the district.

Some of the things that volunteers are doing include:

• running community sports activities
• mentoring parents
• mending dry stone walls
• leading outdoor activities for young people
• socialising with older people in care homes
• acting as expert patients

Despite having so many different ways of working with volunteers, we found that we had a number of ideas and concerns in common. Here are some of they key issues we agreed on.

Volunteering is good for you

As well as helping others, there are lots of benefits to the person who is volunteering. For example, increasing self-confidence and skills, improving your health and well-being, meeting new people, and gaining experience and training that could help with job prospects.

Supporting the voluntary sector

We need to make sure that voluntary and community groups can get good quality help and advice to help them get the most out of their volunteers.

We will be meeting again soon to work out practical ways of increasing the number of people volunteering in Kirklees.

Could you be a volunteer?

There are lots of different roles for volunteers, and anyone can be a volunteer. You don’t need any special skills, and even if you can only spare a short amount of time, there is something that you can do.

For information on health and social care volunteering in your community contact:


Lynda Poole or Janet Edmunds,
Kirklees Adult Services,
Gateway Volunteer Coordinators,
Huddersfield
01484 416503

E-mail: gatewayvolunteers@kirklees.gov.uk