Celebrating our volunteers
Volunteering is varied and volunteers come from all walks of life. In Generations Working Together we have many different types of volunteers who help with our aim of bringing younger and older people together these include our trustees, our local network coordinators and our older volunteers who work with pupils in schools. Together they do a wide range of tasks, participate in events and champion intergenerational work.
In order to celebrate them this volunteers week and to highlight their roles in the organisation we interviewed two types of volunteers, the local network coordinator, Becky Mitchell who organises and runs the Lanarkshire Network and Aideen O’Malley the volunteer who works with school pupils in an intergenerational project to raise attainment in our project in Perth and Kinross.
Becky Mitchell, Local Network Coordinator, Lanarkshire Network
Kate -“Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do when not volunteering for GWT?”
Becky – “I have 3 jobs.I work part time for Getting Better Together, a community organisation in Shotts, where I promote and build intergenerational relationships, I am a cleaner (I work 1 day a week doing this) and I have my own business working from home, where I sell Long lasting cosmetics, the main one being Lipsense. I do this in the pockets of time in my day, around my 2 children.”
Kate -“What do you do in Generations Working Together?”
Becky -“I am a volunteer Network Coordinator. I support others within the network as well as arranging quarterly Network meetings. I actively promote the Network and encourage organisations to join the network, advising them of the great work we do and how it could benefit them too.”
Kate – “How did you find out about the opportunity?”
Becky -“I heard about it at the first network meeting that I attended in 2017 (and then again at the second).”
Kate -“What has been your highlight?”
Becky -“Arranging my first successful meeting.”
Kate -“What is the best thing about volunteering?”
Becky -“The satisfaction of doing something that helps others. This is a new concept to me. I was brought up with the mindset that you don’t do anything for nothing, and that volunteering was for unemployed people. I have been blown away by the volunteers I have met, how much people are willing to give, and their willingness to help. This made me want to get involved.”
Kate -“Would you recommend volunteering to others?”
Becky -“Absolutely!”
Aideen O’Malley, older volunteer in Perth and Kinross intergenerational project
Kate -“Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do when not volunteering for GWT?”
Aideen -“We came to live in Auchterarder three years ago, when my husband retired, having previously lived in many different places in the UK and abroad. My family are now all grown up and living away but a constant flow of family and friends keeps our home life very busy. I am also involved with a very active and growing charity in Edinburgh as chair of the board of trustees.”
Kate -“What do you do in Generations Working Together?”
Aideen -“I am currently working as a volunteer in the Community School of Auchterarder, helping with literacy in two classes, P4 and P5. In one class I work with a different small group each week, helping them with their writing projects. In the other, I work alongside the class teacher, again helping the children to improve their writing skills.”
Kate – “How did you find out about the opportunity?”
Aideen -“I came across the GWT project through an ad in the local newsletter, the Lang Toon Times.”
Kate -“What has been your highlight?”
Aideen -“What I particularly enjoy, though it can sometime be difficult to channel, is the liveliness of the children and their enthusiasm for their writing. The atmosphere in a classroom today is light years away from what we knew growing up and can take some getting used to but I can see it working well for these children.”
Kate -“What is the best thing about volunteering?”
Aideen -“Volunteering is a way of linking in to your community, seeing life in your locality from a different angle. I am a relative newcomer to Auchterarder and this has given me a valuable new way of making contact with the life of the town.”
Kate -“Would you recommend volunteering to others?”
Aideen -“I can heartily recommend it. It is a commitment, and one you have to be prepared to keep up throughout the school year, but it has been well worth it.”
To highlight their achievements this week, all our volunteers received a copy of the Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking to inspire them to further develop their communities.
To find out more about our volunteers and volunteering opportunities please contact Kate Communications and Policy Assistant.