Sean | Volunteering Officer (Oldham)
Email meWhat is my role?
Volunteering Officer(Oldham)
My role is to recruit and support members of the public into volunteering with community organisations and charities within Oldham. My role is also to promote the volunteering service to the public at events and functions, and to support organisations themselves with recruiting and supporting volunteers. I also hold ‘volunteer hubs’ outside of the town centre with the aim of reaching more people in person, in addition to telephone 1:1s and regular support over email.
What drew me to work at Action Together?
I applied for the role at Action Together supporting volunteers because it’s similar to role I did before at Bradford College some years ago, a role that I thoroughly enjoyed (and missed). More importantly though I was keen to do the role in a different location and with a different audience, so when I saw the role available it was an easy decision as to whether to apply. I also enjoy working in an environment that involves supporting people directly, and watching them grow and gain confidence over the course of their journey, so being able to be a part of that, and working alongside others doing the same, has been very satisfying.
What excites me most about this role?
I’m passionate about creating an environment and a set of volunteering opportunities that’s accessible to all, or at least as many people as possible. So being able to work on projects and build upon ideas that help expand the scope of what we do and who we can involve is exciting and satisfying. While I’ve only been in this role a few months I also enjoy working with people who feel the same way, and equally want to achieve the same outcomes.
My hopes for Oldham are?
Currently with the cost of living crisis and the continuing economic woes, many people are finding it harder to give their time for free to volunteer. I hope the crisis will subside soon so people are less fraught and anxious, and so we can work with communities that are happier and feel more comfortable being able to volunteer.