Volunteers' Week 2021

We could not do the work we do without the amazing support of our volunteers - and during Volunteers' Week 2021 we're going to highlight some of our new volunteers who have pioneered our Volunteer Springboard programme. 

The Volunteer Springboard is designed to make each volunteer's experience reflect their own personal reasons for wanting to work with us towards a fair society for all, with lives well lived. Each volunteer has their own reasons for volunteering and we want the opportunities available to them to reflect and fulfil that reason, creating a valuable experience for everyone.

Work

Community

Mary volunteers with our social enterprise, Society Matters cic

"CAG makes it their aim to equalise the playing field for everyone in society. This is something that resonates with me. I believe to thrive as a society and community, we need to improve the position of all the people within, not just those who currently are benefiting from the status quo. Therefore, helping CAG in their progress is something that I find rewarding.

Additionally, I think volunteering is a good way to increase my skills. Not only can I give back, but volunteering allows me to upskill and gain good workplace qualities that will be useful when I am looking for a job. CAG has made sure that I am getting the most of my time volunteering. For example, I have already attained two of the Society Matters courses on social welfare. The information I learned is essential to know so I can add social value to my work when I join the workforce.

I volunteer within Society Matters cic. I have been made to feel welcome, and an appreciated part of the team. Lee, the Trading Manager, has shown me all the necessary work that Society Matters are doing to ensure that CAG can be as effective as possible, such as offering affordable courses aimed at increasing social value within the workplace. I hope to continue to assist Lee and others at Society Matters cic, to further the impact they are making with their work!

Overall, the two main reasons I wanted to volunteer was the ability to upskill and the chance to give back to my community, both of which I am doing through CAG and Society Matters. I am enjoying the work I am doing through CAG and would recommend them to others wishing to volunteer. Citizens Advice Gateshead is an organisation that does well by its volunteers and workers, as well as society."

Skills

"I’m James and I’m currently a trainee adviceline volunteer.

During the pandemic, I was really keen to get more involved in the local community as I knew it would be an immensely difficult and uncertain time for many people.

I also knew that the issues Citizen’s Advice deals with were something I wanted to gain more knowledge about and I’ve really enjoyed learning about them through the training plan.  

I’m really excited to continue to enhance my skills and to put all I’ve learned into practice and get started shortly!"

 Inclusion

To find out more about volunteering with Citizens Advice Gateshead, click here
To discover more of our volunteers' stories, click here.