Volunteers' Week celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and runs from Monday 3rd June until Sunday 9th.
Here at GC volunteering policy, Volunteer2day, allows you to take up to two days leave in any one-year rolling period to volunteer.
You can take your two days leave in hours, half days and full days, and if your volunteering is done outside of the working day, you can claim this time back in lieu.
If you have already done volunteering in the calendar year which you would like to count towards your two days, you are able to do this and claim the time back in the same way.
Starting thinking about how you and your team could mark Volunteering Week. Here are some recent examples where our colleagues have been out in the community making a difference to people's lives and enriching their own through the volunteering experience:
Kifle Gebregzabiher, Employment Advisor, Refugee Employability Programme (REP), came to the UK as an Asylum seeker in 2014 and received his refugee status the same year.
Alongside his day job, he devotes four hours per week of his time to volunteering with the Eritrean community in Leeds every Tuesday and Friday from 6-8 pm.
Kifle explains what's involved:
"My volunteering activities encompass a range of activities aimed at fostering unity and support within the local community. I provide support with matters including interpreting letters, creating CVs, completing application forms of different sorts, such as children’s school forms, applications for Universal Credit etc, to organising sporting events, and playing a pivotal role in bringing the community together.
"My efforts extend beyond these activities, and I also provide information, advice, and guidance on navigating complex systems and services and I serve as a conduit for opportunities, referring eligible individuals to programmes such as the Refugee Employability Programme (REP) and connecting community members with relevant organisations, based on their needs. However tiring it is, I always try to embody the essence of service and empowerment and I try to make a tangible difference to the lives of those I am working with."
An update on Nicole's volunteering with 'Schnauzerfest'
You might remember that last year, Nicole Isselbacher, Regional Account Manager in the Education & Skills team, shared her volunteering story with charity, 'Schnauzerfest'. They help raise awareness of dogs from bad breeding backgrounds (like puppy farms and others), but also pay vet bills to rescues and support adopters and fosterers too.
Nicole gave us an update on how her regular volunteering is going and how GC helps:
"I recently attended the 'All About Dogs' show Newbury. It's about raising awareness of the charity and how we can help support with the cost of living crisis if owners find they've exceeded their pet insurance premium and have no way to afford medical intervention for the dog (in particular schnauzers), but we do pay grants to support other dogs in need too. We also raise awareness of poor commercial breeding/puppy farms and support dogs that are being rescued by paying their vet bills."
"I was given a day of volunteering leave on the Friday to set up and travel down. I spent the Saturday and Sunday at the event helping raise awareness and covering the stall. Doing this volunteer work is so fulfilling and I am so grateful that GC support my passion."
