Health and social care is one of the largest volunteering sectors in the UK. This includes organisations like the NHS and charities which improve the wellbeing of people of all ages. So what do helpers actually get involved with? The opportunities are more diverse than we imagined as our bloggers reveal.

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Wednesday Nov 18, 2009

Breaking out of academia

My name's Sarah, I'm 23 years old and I recently began to feel stuck in the education rut.  After leaving school, I started out studying for a degree in Law at Cardiff University.  After two years of serious slogging I decided that I could no longer bear slaving through dry as dust legislation and reams of tiresome case law; it just wasn't for me. 

Writing has always been my true passion so I decided to change degree course to Journalism, Film and Media (my mum reckons I only chose Law in the first place because I thought it would make me look 'impressive').  So after a bit of pleading (with the lecturers, who were bemused as to why someone would change their mind after two years and my parents, who had to fork out the extra money that comes with starting a new course from scratch) I transferred to Journalism. 

The course is current, dynamic and challenging.  But as this is technically my fourth year of university, over the last year I couldn't help feeling a little trapped in the world of academia.  Aside from the odd shop and bar job here and there it's all I've really known, which isn't a lot for someone into their twenties.  And this is where volunteering comes in.  

I decided to volunteer to give my life a bit more substance so to speak.  There are so many volunteering opportunities out there nowadays that initially I was a bit stumped as to where to begin.  I knew I wanted to commit myself to a cause that I felt passionate about, as there's no better impetus than emotional investment.  I soon realised that it was a natural choice for me to volunteer with the Alzheimer's Society.  My grandfather died of this cruel illness five years ago; he was an amazing, kind man and one of the dearest people to me.  I couldn't think of a more motivating factor than that of cherishing my grandfather's memory. 

I called my local branch of the Alzheimer's Society in July of this year and signed up as a carers' support group volunteer.  The role involves going along to a monthly support group for people who care for loved ones with dementia and offering a sensitive and supportive ear.  Some days will be incredibly sad and might involve me reassuring a carer whose partner no longer recognises them.  Other days the carers might feel like talking about anything but dementia and we end up having a real laugh.  Either way, I always go away feeling like I've made a difference to someone's day and I couldn't think of any other volunteering role I'd rather be doing.

Posted by Sarah ( 11:15 AM )
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