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

Friday Jun 09, 2006

media scoops and campaigning in the sun

Oh it's been a varied few days. I've managed to begin to really feel like I work here, with some substantial task being thrown my way, coupled with some more of the humourously mundane. In fact, I even managed to combine both of these with my first dabbling at writing press releases..

yes, the Shelter charity shop in Wakefield had a new kitchen fitted last week. Not only that, but the kitchen was donated and fitted by local handymen from the Mears Group, who are the biggest social housing renovaters nationwide. A press release was duely sent out to local papers across the region and a photocall arranged to capture the spotless new cupboards, state of the art fridge and whistling shiney kettle.

The little known but very highly regarded Wakefield Express and Star turned up and captured, i believe, the scoop of the year thus far. If only the Times had known in advance...

In addition to capturing local column inches I had the chance to add my services to Shelter's sign up campaign at last weekend's Camden Green Fair. The sun shone, the organic cider was delicious and we achieved a huge number of sign ups for our Full House campaign which is calling for the Government to tackle the huge problem of overcrowded homes in the UK today.

The final triumph for the Shelter Press team recently has been the success of the launch of Shelter's Home Is campaign in Scotland. We are asking people to log on and tell us what home means to them. So what does it? Have a think and let us know at http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/howtohelp/howtohelp-4695.cfm?frmAlias=banner 

To me right now it should mean a big garden full of friends, tunes and kronenburg so I can enjoy this amazing weather over the weekend...

Posted by Rachael ( 11:52 AM )
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Thursday May 25, 2006

A bit of glitz and glam

Tuesday morning, nothing too exciting, reading the papers...suddenly interrupted by the opportunity to accompany our head of campaigns on a trip to Milbank and an interview at the ITV TV studio.

As it turned out, not terribly scintillating. It was a pre-recorded interview conducted over the phone, so not a roving camera or egotistical presenter in sight. Still, the studios were more than a might swanky, from the glamorous leggy receptionist to the 2 inch thin computer screens being grunted at by red faced men.  And let's face it, you've got to be pretty unimaginative not to get a bit excited about being driven down Whitehall in a Merc!

What it really made me think about is the branding and marketing of charities and their increasing prevalence in the media. State of the art recording studios, kitsch star studded balls, PR masterminded campaign launches are all a million miles away from the people and the issues charities campaign for. I didn't expect Shelter to have a brand manager and a celebrities liaison officer. But we need them.

Shelter is an organisation which runs over 50 Housing Aid Centres nationwide, where specialist advisers offer free housing advice to over 170,000 people a year. We also tackle the root causes of Britain's housing crisis by campaigning for new laws, policies and solutions. 

Clearly, the housing officers manning the phones and the policy officers influencing government are the foundation on which the organisation lies. But the people who can promote us on TV or get Davina McCall to mention us in OK are pretty integral too.

Want to find out more about Shelter? Click on www.shelter.org.uk for all the latest news, reports and campaigns

Posted by Rachael ( 2:01 PM )
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Friday May 19, 2006

Prepare to be inspired...

I spoke to a young woman this morning who has had to move 4 times in the last year with her two children under 5.

She left her partner after his violence became so vicious she feared for her children's safety. The women's refuge she fled to was "horrendous, unsafe, and the three of us got one single bed."

The colourful highlights of her next 2 "homes" included a flat with no gas, heating or hot water and another in a "ghetto" neighbourhood up five floors of a stairwell so riddled with urine, vomit and rubbish that she would carry both her children up them.

She is now living in a tiny flat, sharing a bed with her daughter, waiting for a permanent council home to become available.

There are currently over 100,000 people living in temporary accommodation in the UK. That can be anything from B&Bs and hostels to properties specifically allocated to those waiting for a council house. And whilst the number people sleeping rough in the UK has fallen – the current estimate is around 500 – the number of households living in temporary accommodation had risen 120% since Labour came to power.

 There are scores of reasons why people become homeless – parents and friends being unable to put them up, violence, relationship breakdown, mortgage or rent arrears; but very few reasons for why anyone living in the forth richest country in the world should have to endure the kind of year this young family have.

I've met many people working for Shelter who are fiercely passionate and dedicated to the organisation they work for. But this woman is only a couple of years older than me, and is severely depressed as she feels she is " wrecking her kids' lives by making them stay in these places."

All she wants is a home. The inspiration to volunteer for an organisation striving to provide just that for hundreds of thousands of people across the UK has come most pertinently from her.

Want to find out more about Shelter or how you can get involved? Visit www.shelter.org.uk

Posted by Rachael ( 2:49 PM )
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Thursday May 11, 2006

What the hell's an internship anyway?

The way in which we volunteer is changing. People don’t necessarily associate volunteering with a sustained, regular commitment to a cause, group or (especially) political party. Instead, many volunteer for a short but very intense period: someone seeking to gain a Duke of Edinburgh award for example, or wanting to spend 6 months of a gap year teaching English or conserving obscure wildlife in a developing country. Then there is the internship. Extended work experience over a set period of time which is often structured as and must be applied for in the same way as a job. 

Practice, is what you mainly gain. Practice in being interviewed and in working in the environment and niche you see yourself in for the foreseeable future. It’s also the only way to really find out how organisations and people work and interact. You underestimate how much you garner not from being told things, but just from overhearing (or eves-dropping on!) conversations and phone calls and sitting in on meetings. 

In the press office we organise and respond to anything in the news about Shelter – from the services it provides to the issues it campaigns on to its response to government policy. This can be national headline news about changes in housing policy. It can be launching major fundraising campaigns like our recent Red Chair sit in. And it can be far less glam – making sure local papers take photos of 10 year olds who raised money for us, or responding to journalists writing articles on things like the rise in house prices.

One of the main jobs for a press officer is to dispel rumours, misconceptions and inaccuracies about the work of the organisation.  We also have to organise interviews and provide briefings of what is to be said.

So as an intern you are involved in all of this. Less of the front line at first, and far more of the sorting through press cuttings and getting to know the photocopier and all its idiosyncrasies. You’re the one who’s gonna get the nod to stuff envelopes with campaign material when no one else can be arsed. But, if my experience is anything to go buy, you are also entitled to expect a lot of friendly help and support and have the opportunity to question anyone about the work they do.

So as long as you have your wits about you and your eavesdropping ear finely tuned, you can gain a huge amount. You also find the more you read, the more emotionally involved you become, the greater your determination is to stay in the charity sector and to continue to support the organisation you work for. 

Fancy finding out more about being a volunteer or an intern? Check out

http://england.shelter.org.uk/howtohelp/howtohelp-5892.cfm?c=fullhouse for more info.

Posted by Rachael ( 3:02 PM )
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Thursday May 04, 2006

Why volunteer?

There is such a thing as a selfless good deed. Whilst working as a Support Assistant with people with mental health needs after graduating I spent many a cold, dark Wednesday drinking milky Nescafe in a draughty café, where grease dripped from the walls and the old Italian owner scratched his bacon fat ridden crotch with his yellowy grey stained fist, watching the time creep further and further into my evening, listening to client tell me for the fourth time in 3 hours about her chronic depression and short time amnesia (not a good combination for a support worker to contend with, think about it). I garnered no virtuous sentiments. 

My current situation differs somewhat. I have, indeed, embarked upon a stint not just as a volunteer but, specifically, as an intern. What is this, exactly? An opportunity I, like so many graduates hankered after for career and learning opportunities, to attain skills and be given responsibilities? Or is an intern just a bit of polite rhetoric used when an office has a back log of photocopying and wants someone to do a three month tea run?

Actually, there is a pretty fair distribution of tea making around the press office of Shelter, the housing and homeless charity I where I will be working for the next three months. And I’ve hardly been near the photocopier.

Having told my wealthy friends (the money driven ones, who are happy to spend 8 hours a day auditing large company’s accounts in order to ensure that their pay packet exceeds 30k a year) that I would be working for no pay for 3 months, they were horrified. But, to be honest, a degree in English and Communications qualifies you for sod all. It furnishes you with the ability to read quickly and sporadically and talk nonsense with conviction.  A career in the media beckons.

And there are a variety of ways to furnish oneself with sufficient experience to become a press officer for a charity.  But learning from the inside, understanding the issues and campaigns, the structures and processes is, I believe, the best one. One Million children in Britain today grow up in housing that is in terrible condition, temporary or overcrowded. Three months of my life to help that cause whilst learning vital skills seems pretty fair to me. 

Posted by Rachael ( 12:12 PM )
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About me

My name is Rachael Orr, I am 22 and I have just moved to London from bonnie Scotland, where I grew up.

I spent 3 fantastic years at University in Liverpool, where I acquired a degree in English and Communications, a wealth of academic knowledge(!), and the ability to speak Scouse – always a unique and highly desirable party piece. 

Currently, I am working voluntarily through the day and in a theatre bar in the evenings so free time is a valuable commodity and seems to be wasted doing boring but necessary things like food shopping. When I'm working respectable hours I try to spend a good deal of time drinking and listening to live music, and telling myself that it isn't bad for me as I go running regularly.

I love the theatre but not the ticket prices; and believe the best possible way to spend a Saturday afternoon is going to Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh to watch Heart of Midlothian Football Club (who are currently on course for second place league finish, Champions League qualification and a Scottish Cup win).

 

Posted by Rachael ( 11:53 AM )
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