Acts of kindness like doing shopping for a neighbour, starting a book swap in the community or hosting street parties are the positives that can be taken from the pandemic. This community spirit reportedly resulted in a marked shift in people’s propensity to volunteer during the pandemic. The ‘Volunteers Week’ campaign suggested that “…in 2020/21, 54% of the population (29.4m) volunteered informally at least once a year and 33% (17.9m) did so at least once a month”.
A rewarding role
To help support and build these community connections established during the pandemic a new scheme ‘Connect Carmarthenshire’ was created. The project aims to promote this form of ‘informal volunteering’ and connects people through an online platform. Simply share details of the time, skills or help you can offer to those in need locally or use the platform to request help from those in your community.
‘Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services’ (CAVS) suggests community volunteering can make a huge difference to where you live stating that…“sharing your time, your skills and experience, your enthusiasm and passions can help to reduce isolation and loneliness, support the resilience and wellbeing of your community and bring you all closer together. In many cases you may already know one another which can make it easier”.
There are also ways to volunteer more regularly through ‘formal volunteering’ opportunities with a charity or organisation. This can be a great way to support a cause or group that you feel passionate about whilst also gaining hands-on experience or developing your skills. These kind of opportunities are often quite structured with clearly defined and mutually beneficial roles and responsibilities.
Helpful holidays
Another way to volunteer that’s becoming popular with those looking for something a little different involves combining a holiday with some form of volunteer work – also known as ‘voluntourism’.
This could mean seeking out different opportunities in the area you’ve visiting such as joining organised beach cleans or litter picks to combine volunteering as part of your trip. For those looking to keep holiday costs low and enjoy a fully immersive experience there are opportunities that offer free or subsidised accommodation in exchange for your help and time.
‘Bronhaul farm’ in Bancyfelin, Carmarthen welcomes residential volunteers (as well as those looking to help out once or twice a week) to their small-scale, family eco-farm. Volunteers can experience life on the farm and learn about things like; self-sufficiency, natural building, woodland management and growing your own food whilst immersed in nature.
‘Visit Wales’ provide more information about how to find volunteering holidays in Wales and highlight different types of volunteer holidays you can try in this volunteering holidays article.
Ready to take the next step?
To find out more about volunteering locally visit Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services (CAVS) to discover what kind of volunteering might suit you and opportunities available.
You can also register on the Volunteering Wales website, and browse the volunteering opportunities that organisations from across Carmarthenshire and further afield have posted.
