Let's face it, most people who volunteer are passionate about helping people - but for some influencing social change is also important. Volunteering for a campaigning organisation allows volunteers to help make things happen for large charities. Find out what the grass roots activists get up to here.

All | Helen | Rachael | Carolynn | Moira

Main | Next page »

Wednesday Sep 19, 2007

Where has the summer gone?

Last night we had our Oxfam End of Summer Party, where did the summer go? I suppose I spent a large part of it in America and due to the large amount or rain we have had I guess it never really felt like it was here. It was fantastic to see lots of the new volunteers really beginning to feel at home in the team – although they were a little to good at the quiz and showed me just how little I knew about famous people and geography! It was sad to say goodbye to some of our staff members, however I am confident that our Outreach team will continue to be fantastic and grab every opportunity to have fun while collecting signatures for petitions. The next challenge is Oxjam, our month full music programme raising support for the great work Oxfam does, so watch this space for stories about that.  

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 5:02 PM )
Link to this post Comments[1]

Thursday Aug 16, 2007

Wet and Muddy ...and still loving it!!

My new job is taking over my life, although i have never been happier, its a fantastic job and its taking up lots of my time - its just making it difficult for me to blog, sorry!!

So as well as starting a great new job, working with young homeless people getting them to volunteer, i have spent the summer at music festivals.

With the strange weather we have been having this summer, i suppose it wasnt too surprising that they have been really really wet and muddy. I have been told that Glastonbury wouldnt be the same without it - however after 5 days of constant rain and knee deep mud - my boyfriend and i decided that by Sunday, mud really wasnt that glorious after all and our beds and showers were calling us.

We had hoped that WOMAD would be slightly drier...we were wrong!! again knee deep mud and losing our wellies as they got stuck. At WOMAD similar to last year, as volunteers for Oxfam, we were asked to work on the accessible camping area, we quickly realised that mud and wheel-chairs don't go well together, by the second day half of the people using this area to camp in had gone home after struggling to get round the site on 4 wheels. It was really sad to see people leave and to keep a smile on our face while volunteering - making it even more important to remember that we were doing it for the fantastic cause, Oxfam (and the free tickets!!) 

Glastonbury despite being wet mainly attracted people who were happy to party in the rain and roll in the mud, we even had a number of rather drunk people who after having mud baths were keen to hug us ...we did our best to avoid this affection! I was responsible for supervising a team of 20 volunteers, keeping them happy and dry where possible, this was manic yet great fun - although after 8 hours standing in the rain it became a challenge to keep a smile on our faces!

Despite the rain, mud and moans i love festivals and will keep going back for more, remembering the difference we are able to make to Oxfam's work overseas.  

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 9:42 AM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Monday Jun 04, 2007

Listen up...im speaking!

Things have become a little crazy for me as i am presentlybetween two jobs, so sorry for not writing sooner! Hopefully things will calm down slightly when i start working for Crisis as a Youth Volunteering Co-ordinator next week.

When i havent been getting excited about my new job i have also been doing lots of fun stuff with Oxfam! After being asked to speak at an Oxfam Live event, part of their national roadshow, i was honoured but did wonder how i would manage to fill 45 minutes. It was my role to talk to a large group of people about Oxfam's school speaker scheme and to recruit as many people as possible to become a speaker. Thankfully it was easier than expected and after lots of planning and practice i was able to run a session that was informative and fun, despite the odd awkward questions i had to answer - while making out that i knew what i was talking about. The group was full of people of all ages and backgrounds (some having been teachers themselves - so probably knew a little more than me about talking in schools) however i managed to get them all engaged and a large number of them collected an application form off me too.

 Thankfully i had an earlier slot to fill, as the fire alarms were set off during the following session resulting in everyone being evacuated and waiting around for ages as we waited for fire engines and the building to be investigated. Most people understandably gave up and went home, causing quite an abrupt end to the event.

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 4:34 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Friday Apr 06, 2007

Cooper Temple Clause...not quite what i expected!

 You never know what you are going to get when you go to a gig to campaign. As we approached the Shepards Bush Empire last night to watch the Cooper Temple Clause, their support acts and to collect lots of signatures for our Make Trade Fair campaign, we began to wonder whether the people waiting outside were really the type who would want to support Oxfam. We soon learnt that you should never judge people by their appearence and people really can surprise you! Not only were people easy to approach, they were allso more than willing to sign our petition and many of them were pleased to tell us that they brought fair trade tea bags - one girl agreed with me that fair trade easter eggs were the best chocolate to be easten tthis weekend (as well as fair trade hot choc!) . We would normally take a team of campaigners to a gig like this, with only an Oxfam staff member and myself - we made the most of the time we had to collect as many signtaures as possible, and went away dedicated to making sure that even more people got involved next time.

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 3:02 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Wednesday Mar 14, 2007

A night with Kaiser Chiefs...

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun...I definitely had fun and times flied by since, so apologies for not writing and filling you in on this sooner! A couple of weeks ago I was given the fantastic opportunity to go to a Kaiser Chiefs at Shepherds Bush Empire, as an Oxfam Campaigner. Shepherds Bush Empire is a fantastically small venue, which means that you get the added bonus of campaigning while being in the gig atmosphere. Most campaigning opportunities usually involve having a stand in the foyer and catching people as they walk on by. Kaiser Chiefs were definitely in their element with a song at the top of the charts – they were good, and they knew it! We were also collecting signatures for a campaign that very few people disputed... challenging the harmful role of global patent rules in blocking poor people's access to vital medicines. Although it was raining outside the fantastic atmosphere and support we were getting inside made it all worthwhile.

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 5:27 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Thursday Feb 15, 2007

Worth Waiting For...

This is an important week in the life of any Oxfam Festival Steward, this is the week when we can start applying to volunteer at festivals over the summer. Having stewarded before we get advanced warning in order to get our applications in to beat the rush and stand a chance of getting to Glastonbury this year (new stewards have to wait till March to apply). With Glastonbury being back on this year we had to beat the rush to ensure we got the opportunity to get muddy in a somerset field while listening to amazing music. Poised at my computer on Monday morning ready with embarrassing passport photos and deposit cheques, I waited for the form to become live in order to fill it in and rush down to the post office. Application now in, all i can do now is wait and hope that I will be drinking Somerset Cider while listening to Kylie perform at this years Glastonbury festival.

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 4:55 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Thursday Feb 01, 2007

Going Back to School

As soon as a new volunteering opportunity comes up with Oxfam, I never seem to be far from the front of the queue!

The latest opportunity took me to York last weekend, where I found myself learning how to be a Oxfam School Speaker with lots of other Oxfam volunteers of all ages. The weekend was full of fun and interactive activities for us to have a go out and then become confident in delivering to school children from 8-18 years. Finding creative ways to engage people in learning about global citizenship covering a range of areas from 'what is Oxfam' to the 'Millennium Development Goals'.

I had an amazing weekend getting to know people and preparing myself for taking school assemblies and workshops, unfortunately I ended up spending the Saturday afternoon in bed after a migraine defeated me and quickly became aware of how caring the other members of the group were.

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 2:46 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Tuesday Jan 23, 2007

Celebrations....

Last night Oxfam, Amnesty International and IANSA came together for a rather posh evening of celebrations marking the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voting to start work on an Arms Trade Treaty(153 governments voted in favour of the resolution). This is an incredible achievement following years of campaigning and over a million people pledging their support through the Million Faces Petition. I was invited to attend this event.

We were served delicious food and wine (fairtrade, of course!) and given the opportunity to listen to a number of motivational speakers. I was particularly moved by a man who spoke about his experiences of armed conflict - He was a Scottish man who had married a woman from Turkey, when their first (and only) son was 2 and a half, they went over to Turkey to visit her parents, while in a cafe in Turkey an argument broke out between two others in this cafe, someone involved in this argument pulled out a gun and started shooting it randomly, this resulted in his son being killed instantly and others being badly injured.  Since this event he had dedicated his life to campaigning against arms trade. This really brought it home that armed violence can affect anyone and that we need to do what we can to stop it.

I think the most powerful message that i have been able to take away from these celebrations is that ...campaigning works and we really can make a difference!

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 2:46 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Friday Jan 19, 2007

Im back...

Just when you had thought i had disapeared off the face of the planet - im back, bigger, bolder and back in employment!

Im afraid i neglected my blogging as after being unemployed for 5 months things on the job front began to look really rather scary. i had been getting lots of job interviews but having no luck with these until suddenly i got offered 2 jobs in 2 days - i suppose its a bit like buses, you dont get any for ages and then 2 come at once!

I ended up accepting a job at the Camelot Foundation, as you may have guessed we have something to do with the lottery, we are the charity associated with the lottery that makes sure that funding grants go to young people. so its great for networking as i spend most of the days chatting to fantastic people who work for youth-focused charities and just need a bit more money to make their projects even better!

Although getting a job has meant that i have left my post as Oxfam UIniversity Campaigns Co-ordinator, i am still very heavily involved and busy supporting the team in coming up with exciting events for us to campaign at this year. We also have a new mamber of Oxfam staff who will be supporting us - so that will be very exciting as we welcome all of her new ideas.

im getting ready to attend an Oxfam school speakers training weekend and will keep you posted on all of those adventures too.

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 11:54 AM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Tuesday Oct 10, 2006

End of the Road

i actually reached the End of the Road a few weeks back, i have just been so busy job hunting since that i havent got round to letting you know how i got there! End of the Road is a fantastic new music festival that was launched for the first time this year. The bonus of it being a very new and hardly heard of festival meant that  there was only  1,500  festival goers,  enjoying the fantastic music and  gardens  with the local peacocks!  This made our role as Oxfam stewards,  very easy compared to the larger festivals like Glastonbury. Being a new festival it certainly had its teething problems to keep us busy, but was friendly enough for musicians to mix with the punters - i even got a hug and kiss from Badly Drawn Boy and went to a IM FROM BARCELONA secret gig (if you havent heared of them, keep your eyes out - they are likely to be the next big thing, im already a huge fan!). Following my success of looking after people in wheelchairs at other festivals i found myself again on the platform for disabled people, however it turned out that there wasnt a wheelchair on site, so this left me with not much else to do but enjoy the bands on the main stage.  While doing a  late shift on the Sunday night, i was thankfully moved before i fell asleep and was kept awake chatting to punters and making sure they didnt fall into the gardens pond or get lost in the woods. having told some friends about how great stewarding at festivals was i was able to convince some friends to join us, they came and also had a fantastic time ...showing that word of mouth is deffinitly one of the best forms of volunteer recruitment!

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 5:07 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Thursday Sep 07, 2006

Oxfam University Campaigns Co-ordinator

have you noticed that posh header for this blog entry? Well thats my new title, groovy or what?! when i was told my contract had ended at my previous job, i was head-hunted by Oxfam to use my skills in setting up student campaigns to get universities promoting Oxfams work across London and the South East. Unfortunatly it is unpaid/ a voluntary role, but it beats watching daytime TV! So i am now spending half my week setting up a programme for universities to become involved in Oxfams campaigns and spending the rest of the week applying for jobs and going to interviews (getting lots of interviews, but nerves take over, so dont get lots of job offers - cry!). To my surprise working with students isnt something Oxfam, despite being around 50 years old) has really explored, so its a really exciting opportunity. Its pretty fustrating too though, as im having to job hunt to afford life in London, it means im coming up with lots of exciting ideas but having to restrain myself so i dont get too carried away and then end up leaving with lots of projects half finished. If only Oxfam had more money to enable me to stay on and make things happen. So that Oxfam is able to put more money into its operations across the world, a surprising number of people within the charity are full or part-time volunteers. Employment within Oxfam looks unlikely but this is a fantastic volunteering  opportunity and i intend to make the most of it!

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 10:22 AM )
Link to this post Comments[1]

Friday Aug 18, 2006

Stewarding at the BIG CHILL

If any of you are reading my blog and asking hasn't BIG CHILL already happened, you are right, it has - im just trying to get up to date with Blogging! Not really being one who is particularly into DJ's i really wasnt to sure what i was going to make of the BIG CHILL - i was pleasently surprised and came across some fantastic bands and (dare i say it) DJ's. As this was a very last minute decision i was unable to convince my boyfriend, who usually stewards with me, to come too as he was busy doing his dissertation for his Masters. Thankfully one of the stewards i had met at WOMAD was also going and offered to give me a lift to the festival so we got to know each other along the way. As many of our shifts clashed however i did find myself spending a lot of time alone during the days, checking out the interesting stalls and poping between stages (its a huge venue, so that took quite a bit of time). Being by myself during the evenings felt a little more awkward when it came to the partying! Thankfully i was stewarding two of the evenings, so this meant not only did i get to watch a lot of the performers on the main stage while taking care of the visibility platform, but i felt that my life had some kind of purpose! Although i felt more alone than usual i found myself chatting to a lot more stewards and it turned out that a larger number than i had expected had come alone, i had fun chilling out with one of them in the Body and Soul Zone one afternoon before visiting a 'make-believe' wedding ceremony! Apart from dealing with the odd drunk punter, stewarding on the visibility platform was fantastic and very rewarding.

Please note: Although the people who organise stewarding at festivals for Oxfam volunteers are ultra nice, its very unlikely that you are able to request where you are stewarding and which shifts you end up with - i was just lucky!

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 1:19 PM )
Link to this post Comments[1]

Wednesday Aug 16, 2006

BIG CHILL

Just incase i couldnt get enough of smelly portaloos, walkie talkies and drunk festival goers, i offered to volunteer at another festival THE BIG CHILL. Oxfam festival steward organisers were pleading with us lovely people helping out at WOMAD to lend a hand the following weekend at this festival. Im not quite sure if im a sucker or a festival lover, but being unemployed and with not much else to do except job hunting (which i was keen to avoid like the plague) i offered my services. Offering to volunteer at late notice, i explained to the team manager that to keep me happy, i didnt want any 'graveyard' shifts (starting at 12am or later) and to make me ultra willing that i wanted to volunteer on the platform for people with disabilities - a raised area in front of the main stage reserved for people who due to their disability needed to sit down or use a  wheelchair during performances, to make sure they werent knocked as punters danced around to the music and enabling them to see above peoples heads - my main reason being that i was able to enjoy the dj's and bands at the same time. They agreed!

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 4:01 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

Thursday Aug 10, 2006

WOMAD

Ever since i returned from WOMAD people seem to be commenting on my tan and how 'healthy' i look. It wasnt all about sunbathing and enjoying the fantastic world music though, it was about making the festival run smoothly while raising money for Oxfam at the same time.  Stewarding  involves volunteering for three 8 hour shifts over the duration of the weekend (including a night shift of 12-8am!). Volunteers get allocated a section of the arena or campsite to look  after during these sessions, along with a team of other i was designated to the camping area for disabled people and their carers. This area offers suitable toilet and shower facilities for people in wheelchairs and is the nearest camping area to the arena for ease of access. My shifts seemed to vary between persuading people that they didnt need to bring the kitchen sink with them and to camp closer to others, re-charging electric wheelchairs, dealing with an electricity cut, reporting full and smelly porta-loos and keeping punters happy, answering any questions they had. Creating a good relationship with my fellow team members and following my previous experience of stewarding, i seemed to end up supervising the team and keeping them motivated even during the darkest hours! i met lots of fantastic people and made plenty of friends, all resulting in a FANTASTIC weekend!

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 9:20 PM )
Link to this post Comments[0]

My name in print

Having come across my blog, the Metro (free newspaper) approached me, for assistance  in writing an article on stewarding at festivals. Very keen to have my name in print i got involved and shared with the nation just how great it was.

Posted by Helen Bryant ( 8:55 PM )
Link to this post Comments[1]