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Volunteer stories
  • Leanne Donaghy

    My name is Leanne Donaghy and I am 24 years old. I got involved in volunteering when I turned 16 in February 2002. My first volunteer role was in Save The Children charity shop in Bangor. I volunteered there for six years in total. Throughout my time there I gained a lot of experience. (read more)

  • Joanna's Story

    Joanna Jones, 32 from Lisburn has been a volunteer with Guide Dogs for over four years ever since she completed a tandem sky dive for the charity and wanted to get more involved. (read more )

  • I would recommend volunteering to anybody!

    When I first started volunteering with CVNI I had no interest in conservation work, I didn't even want to get my hands dirty, but that all changed. I have gained qualifications I didn't think I would get and I have never looked back and I would recommend volunteering to anybody. (read more )

  • The Wonderful World of Volunteering

    I read an ad in the newspaper and it intrigued me. Little did I know just what I was entering into.... the wonderful world of volunteering.... a year that was going to give me direction, confidence, where I would meet lots of amazing people and best of all, have plenty of fun and laughter along the way (read more)

  • Make New Friends Whilst Helping a Worthwhile Cause

    Mount Stewart House is a National Trust property near Newtownards. The National Trust relies on the support of volunteers to maintain some of their best-loved sites and buildings as well as some of their 'hidden gems' (read more )

  • Rachael Sewell

    Rachael Sewell, 21, from Belfast has been a volunteer with Mencap's Shout Out Self-Advocacy Group for the past four years. Shout Out is about young people having the right to shout out and develop their self-advocacy skills and take part in consultations, campaigns and workshops. (read more)

  • Cathy Gallagher

    I was brought up in a 'volunteering' family where my mum, dad and other relatives were all heavily involved in our local club. That was probably my 'grounding' in volunteerism. (read more)

  • Catch the Volunteering Bug!

    Before I went away I never really did any volunteering at all, I always thought that there were other people out there who could do it. But I have now learnt that it is everyone's responsibility to get involved in some way. (read more)

  • Overseas Volunteer Finds Magic Volunteering

    It's in Northern Ireland where I have felt most at home and where I've experienced like nowhere else an overwhelming understanding that we are in fact able to change things if we all work together with one goal in mind: helping others. (read more)

  • Millennium Volunteer Gains Career Insight

    Rachel Moore is a student at Lumen Christi College and has been volunteering at Altnagelvin Hospital since October, as part of the Millennium Volunteers programme, which recognises sustained commitment to volunteering. (read more)

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A Rewarding Experience

Jill Hunter works as a Development Officer with Voluntary Service Bureau (VSB) in Belfast. Her role is to promote and manage the transport buddying service offering door to door transport and to recruit, train and manage the volunteers for this service. Jill therefore, knows only too well the importance of people giving their time to help others, their community or the environment.

Jill began volunteering herself, at South Eastern Regional College as a teaching assistant in an ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) class in September 2009. The class takes place every Monday evening for two hours throughout the academic year. There are twenty five students in the class and include people from Poland, Germany, Latvia and Romania.

Explaining how she got involved Jill said, "I rang the college to enquire if I could get involved and they matched me up with a language teacher. I enjoy working with people from other nationalities in an educational environment and I enjoy helping people. I have always had an interest in foreign languages and learning about other cultures. Volunteering is a great way to learn new things while giving something back. I travelled and worked abroad when I was a student and I was always very well looked after while in other countries so it's nice to be able to help other people who are new to my country.

My role as teaching assistant shadows that of the teacher. Once a task has been set the class is usually split in two between the teacher and myself, so whilst the students are working I help out with any problems and offer support on a one to one basis. The skills required for this type of position include being a good listener, good communicator, being patient and having a desire to help. I get a lot of satisfaction from helping people and seeing them progress and ultimately become more settled in their new country. I believe that I get as much, if not more, out of volunteering my time as the organisation gains. It is a very rewarding experience and I would really encourage other people to think about volunteering."

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