Hi all,
After a few recent events, I have decided that it is time that I started giving back a little bit.
It may just be a fad and might not last forever, but while the intention is there I am looking for some good causes in and around London to donate my time to.
Currently trying to convince my team at work to get involved too, so any ideas that you have which may sway them in my new 'team building, whilst giving back' (ok, the name may need working on) initiative would be most welcome.
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I'm currently out of work and looking to do something similar and you've just reminded me that I saw a poster on a door at a charity local to me asking for volunteers with cars to help older folk get from A to B to get out and meet friends and socialise when they would struggle otherwise etc. It has special resonance to me as I've just lost my Nan and wish I had been able to more for her on that side of things. Too busy on the piss and watching shite football.
Whilst I can't offer any specifics off the top of my head, I will have a think and ask other friends if they can think of anything.
One thing I would do is ask your team at work if they have any specific skills that you might not know about that could be useful? I don't know my arse from my elbow when it comes to fixing cars, mending fences and the like but my main hobbies are photography and fishing. My thinking being that if I could offer my help to a charitable organisation in terms of photographing an event to gain them some much needed publicity or take someone out for a day at my club lake to try and catch a few fish, it might just make a little bit of a difference.
Giving time to a worthwhile cause seems to be one of those things easy to 'look into tomorrow' so use my timely post as a kick to go and do it!
I volunteered for a talking newspaper charity, for no other reason than to give something back in my spare time.
I was treated as a lacky who they didn't have to pay, I was accused of trying to make my CV look better and that there were plenty of DoE kids that wanted to help and should regard myself as being lucky.
After a about 2 weeks I left. The whole experience put me off the idea of volunteering.
As I said above, volunteering is easy to 'do tomorrow' - and I'd like to think that we could help them out by doing a few things that as a charity they keep putting off until tomorrow
With Christmas round the corner get colleagues to throw in a few extra items to their weekly shopping and bring to work so you can collect food for your local food bank...I think there are places that will take old blankets and coats etc too.
Then you can organise a day where you feed the homeless in the morning (think there is a soup kitchen type place in Victoria but no doubt they are all over London), followed by painting / gardening in the afternoon. Finish off with organising a 5 a side footy tournament in the evening for your clients as a money raiser and hey presto, job done.
Of course, you could always look at the Charlton Charitable Trust and see if they need any volunteers for anything?
We have a 'Great Bake Off' at work. 20 odd volunteers cook one cake a week and sell for £2 a slice, with usually 20-30 buyers making upto £60 per week which our work then doubles up.