Gemma’s Story – My Volunteer Experience
Gemma tells us about her volunteer experience with Home-Start Central Bedfordshire:
“I’m a single mother with two children. By the time the youngest started school, I had been looking forward to getting back to work. I knew that I didn’t want to go back into an admin job and had decided that I wanted to be in a career where I could help people. The problem was that I didn’t have any relevant work experience and to be honest this held me back from even applying.
When I heard that Home-Start was looking for volunteers, I got in touch. The training was really interesting. I learnt a lot and even got involved with one of the support groups the charity runs. Between this and the family I was helping once a week; I got lots of valuable volunteer experience.
When a job opportunity came up working in the charitable sector, I applied, and I got it! Since then I have started studying in college and have just been excepted into university to start a social work degree. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t volunteered.”
Gain Volunteering Experience With Home-Start
There are many advantages to having volunteer work experience. Helping others does not always need to be selfless, there can often be some personal gain. Volunteer experience can be useful for improving your CV and cover letter for applications. Many of the parents who volunteer with our charity use their volunteering experiences to change career pathways. Our ongoing training can help demonstrate continuous professional development and relevant skills for employment.
If you are considering places to volunteer, follow the link below to find out more about joining our team.
