“After leaving my marketing job at a large company, I was looking for some volunteer opportunities to help vulnerable people in Bristol. My house mate volunteered at One25 and always came home with amazing stories from the van outreach and so I knew that One25 was the charity that I wanted to work with.
Initially I wanted to work on the ‘front line’ – the van outreach. I wanted to feel a part of something and see firsthand the work that One25 was doing. When a fundraising volunteer position opened up I thought this was my way into finding out more about the outreach opportunities. I went in to meet Amy and found out that there was a real need for people to volunteer ‘behind the scenes’ with fundraising.
My previous work experience meant that I could help out in a useful way. On my first day, I was given the job of updating and uploading all the content onto the new website.
I was really able to help and immediately felt part of the team!
On my time away from the website I sent thank you letters to the incredible donors that are either newly supporting One25 or continuing to do so after many years. Sometimes it’s a thank you letter for an event, like dinner4good or a box of gloves or a monetary donation. Each donation is different and left me thinking about the people who give; who they are and what led them to support One25.
Other times I would look through the recent quotes and stories from service users or volunteers to post on Twitter and Facebook. This was one of my favourite things to do. There are endless inspirational quotes to use, showing the dramatic changes in the women’s lives.
In my final month of volunteering I primarily worked on the Auction Extravaganza. This included calling and emailing companies all over Bristol to get prizes, organise seating plans, guest lists, bidding numbers etc. My final night volunteering (before moving abroad) was at the Auction Extravaganza. It was a great way to round up my time at One25!
All the volunteers and staff are so amazing and passionate about what they do. I have left knowing that I can use my skills to best support meaningful work.
Oh and of course there was always the weekly midday update and dissection of the Great British Bake Off, AKA lunch!”