This is Volunteers' Week! We are meeting some of our emergency volunteers each day this week to find out what they’re doing, and why they do it.
Anita Cowing is volunteering in Tameside.
Why have you chosen to volunteer?
I found that I had some spare time and I wanted to do something useful, to help the people in need in my community. I work part time and this volunteer role allows to me to donate my time flexibly around that.
How have you approached the task?
I discussed the opportunity with my husband, Brian and he decided he wanted to help too. Once we had decided where we wanted to start leafleting, we added our details to the flyer and started posting them. We added our address so that our neighbours knew that it was us that would be collecting the donations but to also give them the opportunity to drop off their donation bags at our home if that was more convenient. We started by leafleting half our street and the response was amazing. We collected 32 bags of food, books, jigsaws, and other items. We cannot wait to get out and do some more.
Has anything surprised you / learnt anything new about yourself or your community whilst volunteering?
We have been really surprised by the generosity of our neighbours. We were so pleased with the response we got on our first day of volunteering. We have really enjoyed carrying out the role and it has given us the chance to meet some of our neighbourhoods that we have not spoken to before.
What would you say to someone looking to help out during this time?
Give it a go! It is so easy to sign up to volunteer with Action Together. My application was processed very quickly. For me, it only took one week from applying to starting to volunteer in my community.
Click here to find out how you can become a volunteer in Oldham, Rochdale or Tameside.
Click here to read Volunteer Voices - Donna Mayell and William Hall.
Click here to read Volunteer Voices - Ged and Cath Ball.