Alishia | Volunteering Support Officer
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What is my role:
Volunteering Support Officer – Oldham
I’m Alishia. I’m the Volunteering Support Officer in the Oldham team. My role involves connecting individuals and local groups together. I help people find volunteer roles that matches their interests, skills, knowledge, experience, and (or) hobbies. I work closely with local groups in Oldham such as charities and community groups, helping them to advertise, promote and share the benefits of volunteering.
What most excites me about this role:
I love how it makes me feel knowing I’ve helped someone in their volunteering journey. For example, I speak to people who can be experiencing isolation, boredom, low confidence, anxiety and more. Hearing that volunteering has made an impact in their life is so inspirational to hear. However, knowing that I’ve been part of their journey, really makes me feel proud that my role is really making a difference to support someone else.
What drew me to work at Action Together:
To be honest, I didn’t know much about Action Together back in 2011 when I first started. At the time, my job centre advisor recommended their admin placement which had a series of training alongside the role. Reading the role description and researching what the organisation did really attracted me because it was a stepping stone for me to develop myself personally, including my confidence and skills. I also liked that the organisation helped people in their local community to volunteer, its sounded interesting and something different from what I’ve done before. During the placement I learnt so much about Action Together. Then after the 6 months I stayed on as a volunteer and not long after, secured a paid position with them. The organisation has supported me to develop myself, from assisting with admin to providing training, managing volunteers, planning events, advising people about volunteering in their local community and much, much more. It’s been an amazing journey and I can see why people apply to work here. It’s a great team and organisation. I’ve been here for a long time now and I’ve seen the organisation grow and grow. Every day is different and this is what keeps me drawn in!
My hopes for Oldham are:
I want to keep inspiring people about how they can make a difference in their local community no matter how much time they have. Everyone deserves to feel part of their community in their own way.