NATIONAL VOLUNTEERS WEEK kicks off tomorrow against a backdrop where the number of people giving up some of their own time to help others is on the increase in Moray.
There has also been a clear change in the way that organisations are engaging with volunteers, according to tsiMORAY’s volunteering officer Sue Davies.
Sue told insideMoray: “So many community groups and charities need volunteers but the ones that are doing this most successfully are the organisations that offer a flexibility to their volunteers.
“These are places who really know what their volunteers want to get out of an experience and are flexible to volunteers needs.”
One such organisation is the Moray Foodbank, who Sue believes is an organisation that is matching volunteer needs with the needs of their own organisation particularly well.
Carrie Marlow, Volunteer Development Officer at Moray Foodbank, said: “Here we want everyone to have the opportunity to volunteer, whatever their age or ability.
“We try to offer more flexible volunteering opportunities, whether that’s young people working towards their Saltire or Duke of Edinburgh Awards, or school groups coming in for a one-off volunteer experience.
“We also have our buddying programme, where volunteers who have additional support needs are paired up with someone who can support them get the most out of their volunteering with us. This has meant that people who would normally find the day-to-day volunteering tasks difficult have help and support to complete them, and are encouraged to push themselves to try new things.”
Such is the impact of volunteering at Moray Foodbank, one of their volunteers has summed up the experience by pointed out that while she set out to give something back to the community she learned through working with the team that volunteering had given a lot more back to her.
For more information on volunteering with Moray Foodbank contact Carrie on 01343 208293 or carrie@morayfoodbank.org.uk. For wider volunteer opportunities contact Sue at TSI Moray on 01343 541713 or susan@tsimoray.org.uk.