To celebrate Volunteers Week 2024 we spoke with our very own volunteers at BVA to find out why they started volunteering and why they enjoy it.
Tracy
Meet Tracy – Tracy is one of our lovely Reception Volunteers here at The Orchard, she has been with BVA for 9 months but in total 3 years, having started volunteering with Age Concern.
Tracy started volunteering during lockdown, as an opportunity to get out the house and do something worthwhile. Her favourite part of volunteering on reception has been the chance to meet new people, with no day ever being the same.
Tracy would highly recommend volunteering to others as it is extremely rewarding and gives you a great sense of satisfaction.
Thank you for all your help Tracy!
Jan
Meet Jan – Jan looks after the Basingstoke Wellbeing Walks on behalf of BVA, every week she comes in to look after the administration work behind the walks like liaising with walk leaders, updating schedules and social media posts. Due to redundancy during lockdown Jan started volunteering at a vaccination centre and from there volunteered with the Basingstoke Wellbeing Walks, to utilise her admin skills and keep busy.
Jan is a big advocate for volunteering, regularly recommending it to others. Her advice would be if the first opportunity you try isn’t for you, try something different – volunteering is flexible and far less pressure than paid work.
Without Jan’s help every week we wouldn’t have such a well-run walks programme. Thank you, Jan!
Adrian
This is Adrian, he has been volunteering with BVA for almost two years, kindly helping us with a variety of projects on a weekly basis. Adrian started volunteering to do something productive with this time, he utilises different skills every week, and his favourite part of volunteering is creating websites.
He would highly recommend volunteering for anyone looking to do something worthwhile and make a difference.
Adrian has become a vital member of the BVA team, and we always look forward to him coming in. Thank you Adrian!
Sally
Meet Sally – After ticking off most of her retirement plans Sally was missing regular human contact, that’s when she looked at volunteering. Fast forward two years and Sally has become an essential member of our reception team, volunteering on reception allows Sally to regularly meet and talk to new people.
Sally really likes working with the team and likes how appreciated she is made to feel for her time. If you are looking to something fulfilling and purposeful Sally would highly recommend you give volunteering a go.
Thank you Sally – we really do appreciate your time and support!
Bimala
Bimala volunteers around having young children, using her spare time to volunteer here at The Orchard on reception. She has volunteered for two and a half years and enjoys meeting new people and the new experiences working here exposes her too.
Bimala would encourage others to volunteer as she feels it is a great opportunity to learn new skills and knowledge whilst gaining experience.
It is always a pleasure seeing Bimala’s lovely smile on reception – thank you Bimala!
A huge thank you to all our volunteers! If you would like to volunteer for Basingstoke Voluntary Action we are looking to expand our team – find out more here