During Volunteers Week, we had a chat with one of our former volunteers, who is now a fixed member of staff!
We wanted to know how Dee found volunteering with Save the Family, and how she became an employee – she also offers some advice to anyone who is interested in volunteering with us!
Dee is our Business Support Manager, and joined Save the Family in 2018.
How did you first hear about Save the Family / What made you want to volunteer with us?
I was looking to get back into work after a long term health condition which meant I couldn’t work. After such a long time away from the workforce I was unsure if I was employable at all! A friend of mine started working with Save the Family when Cotton Hall was first built. She was always speaking about how rewarding the work was so I thought to volunteer would be a good stepping stone.
What was your volunteer role, and what skills did you gain as a volunteer?
I applied to Save the Family to be a volunteer and started coming in on a Monday morning to help support the mentor team with coffee mornings and occasionally burning the sausage butties! I found it really rewarding. I also helped with other admin tasks and started to build confidence that I had other skills. At the time the website hadn’t been updated for a while so I started to learn about WordPress and website management through YouTube! As time went by I realised that I had more transferrable skills and found I was supporting the charity in different ways.
When did you start working at Save the Family / how did the transition from Volunteer to Employee come about?
It was about 1 year after I started as a volunteer a part time role was advertised to manage the social media, website and produce a volunteer newsletter so I applied and was surprised that I got it! I have now been working for Save the Family for over 5 years in various roles. Although I don’t work directly with the families, I know that the work I do helps the charity support the them.
Do you have any advice / feedback to give to someone considering volunteering at Save the Family?
Just apply, but please remember that the charity needs volunteers in several roles, some not directly working with the families. All are rewarding and have an impact on the families journey at Save the Family and beyond.
If you are interested in volunteering with us, drop us a message on our contact page, or email info@savethefamily.uk.com.
If you are interested in working for Save the Family, head to our Join Our Team page, to see our latest vacancies.
