News

The TSI is delighted to have hosted a student from the University of Dundee, Jay Stuart, who has helped us interview volunteers and their managers asking the question: Why Volunteer? "I recently was given the opportunity to meet some of our volunteers and volunteer managers and interviewed them on why they chose to volunteer. My interviews took place in two PKAVS facilities. The Walled Garden and the Carers Centre. Many people choose to give their time to help volunteer for many reasons. Margaret, a volunteer at the Carers Centre, spent her time being a carer for her husband for many years without much knowledge on how to help him. A local nurse introduced her to the free carers programme to get the help they both needed. She gained a lot of knowledge from this time and after her husband passed, she wanted to give back to those who helped her. She has been at the Carers Centre for two years now and absolutely loves spending her time there. She does not feel pressured to come in everyday and is a part of the local choir who have done concerts for different charities. Volunteering has made an incredibly positive difference to her life and advises anyone to volunteer. She urges only a few hours a week still helps the community and mentions the flexibility of the role - "The hours are very flexible so its fine if you have any appointments and cannot make it one week." The Carers Centre is full of lovely and welcoming staff and volunteers showing how only a small amount of your time can help make a difference. If you have any experience in caring, or want to gain some, it would be a wonderful way to get out of the house and help others. At the Walled Garden, which focuses on mental health, David one of the peer support workers started as a client and become a volunteer for a few years before moving into a paid role. There are many opportunities available, including arts and crafts, health walks, trips, and gardening. There is lots of free training for staff and volunteers. Volunteers are vital in supporting roles for the running of the activities offered to the clients. Janice is the recovery and development officer at the Walled Garden she oversees volunteer recruitment, management of volunteers and all-around support. There are currently 30 volunteers over two locations who have warmth and empathy and are willing to support the clients and have fun. The staff and Janice are open to feedback given by volunteers and want to make sure everyone is comfortable. People with lived experiences of mental health issues are very understanding of what they are doing at the Walled Garden. There are many reasons why you should volunteer, if you have experience with what a certain charity is doing, if you want to help the community or any certain group, you should start volunteering! There is a lot going on in the world right now and if you can give a few hours of your time to support a cause then you should give it a go. You can volunteer through many organisations, community groups or your local charity shop. There are many volunteering opportunities available to join now through Be the change." Jay Stuart.

Mark has been a volunteer in the CATH Shop for 10 years, and has also been a Trustee member for the charity since 2016. He provides assistance and a welcoming smile to customers in the shop, and has a wealth of experience in the voluntary sector. When Mark joined CATH he had just moved back to Perth, having previously volunteered for St Theresa's Hospice in Darlington, on a large-scale refurbishment project. He is a firm believer in being part of the community, taking pride in making positive contributions and a real difference in people's lives. Mark highly recommends volunteering as a great way to start in the workforce and gain experience whilst being supported through learning. Thank you Mark for everything you do ,we are extremely grateful for your hard work and fantastic contribution you make to CATH. To find out more about volunteering with CATH you can look on their Be the Change profile: Churches Action for the Homeless | Be the Change (Perth & Kinross)

"Being a volunteer coordinator is a very rewarding job. I didn’t know such a role existed until I joined OATS volunteering programme." - Eva Kupska, Volunteer Coordinator, OATS. Hi! My name is Eva and I am the Outdoor Access Volunteer Coordinator for the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland, also known as OATS. This is the story of how I went from volunteering to finding my dream job as a volunteer coordinator for OATS. I have always enjoyed being outdoors, and there have been times I’ve considered a career that would allow me to spend time in the hills, but other things got in the way. It was a very long and twisty path to get here! When I moved to the UK in 2005, I worked in a horse yard and thought that was going to be my job forever. I loved horses. However, I ended up working in restaurants and coffee shops, moving from place to place. After settling down in Perthshire, I decided to join Outdoor Instructor Trainee programme. Unfortunately, a car accident cancelled my plans. It took 6 months to recover, and I was told that I should refrain from strenuous physical activity and find a sedentary job. That terrified me, and I did the exact opposite; I started exercising and got fit, aiming to walk up the hills again. At the same time, I started studying a Visual Communication Bachelor's Degree. My thoughts were: “Being a graphic designer or illustrator is probably the only sedentary job I could stand”. All my free time was spent outside, on a bike, running, walking, camping … I then got a chance to get Mountain Bike Leader qualifications. Suddenly, I was leading guided rides and again considering a career as an Outdoor Instructor. But after finishing my degree, I got comfortable working at a local coffee roastery. It was an enjoyable job, I was quite good at it, the team was great, so why leave? Some years later, I was out running in the Angus Glens and when descending from one of the hills I came across a group repairing the path. They turned out to be volunteers from Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS). Even though I had previously done some mountain bike trail building, I had never given many thoughts to the mountain footpaths. That day, when I got home, I went straight onto the OATS website and signed up for a volunteering day. They used to run on Sundays and Mondays. I only had free weekends, so I went along on Sundays whenever I could. Shona, the Activity Projects Manager at the time, chatted to me about the way she started her career in environmental sector and thanks to the way the internet works, everything ‘environmental’ was popping out as soon as I was online. Taking up volunteering was hugely beneficial to build up experience and I was helping a good cause at the same time. I found a part-time long distance learning course at SRUC - Wildlife and Conservation Management. It was manageable while having a full-time job. First, I approached it as something I wanted to learn for myself, but soon I felt like there were more meaningful jobs I could do than roasting coffee (Apologies to all coffee addicts!). Suddenly, the OATS volunteering programme changed and it no longer ran on Sundays. I started to take time off work to be able to continue; I realised I would probably have to do a lot of different volunteering activities to gain practical skills and experiences before I could even think of applying for a conservation-type job. This led me to get a job as a postie in rural Perthshire, to have more time for studying and to be closer to the outdoors. Maybe a risky move, but the current work was far too comfortable, and I think I needed a “shock to the system” to really take a career change seriously. Soon after, I found out that Shona was leaving her post. I jumped at the possibility to fill in the position, but the job role that came up required much more experience than I had. I applied anyway but, understandably, was not successful. A few months later, OATS got in touch to say the Volunteer Coordinator position had opened up. Again, I wasn’t successful the first time around, but then a phone call came to say the role was mine if I was still interested! Career change is not an easy process but if there is something you are passionate about, it is worth it. Being a volunteer coordinator is a very rewarding job. I didn’t know such a role existed until I joined OATS volunteering programme. The combination of organizing volunteering days, being outdoors with like-minded people, conservation work and promoting responsible outdoor access is the perfect fit for me!