Mary Murphy shares her volunteering story as part of our National Volunteering Week 2016 #NVW2016 Consider Volunteering Campaign
WHEN most of us consider volunteering it’s normally to do something for others and give something back. Few of us consider the possibility of really gaining from it ourselves. The theme of National Volunteering Week 2016, May 16-22, is ‘Think Differently About Volunteering” and that is just what Mary Murphy did when she considered volunteering and chose to get involved.
Having worked as a journalist for over a decade Mary, from Killarney, was made redundant back in 2011 and started the long process of changing careers away from a job that she loved to do to something with better job prospects.
“For me volunteering means that I didn’t have to completely give up on a job I loved, even though I’m not a journalist anymore I can still write and I can still make a difference. It really is the best of both worlds,” Mary recommended.
“I first got involved in volunteering in 2011 when I was made redundant and did a few small projects for the Volunteer Centre, I wasn’t working at the time and it gave me a real boost when I needed it.
“It wasn’t until I started work in the HR Department of Kerry County Council last year that I began to look more seriously at the opportunities, she added.
“I had been back in University College Cork retraining, and been through a bit of a fluid time job wise but when I settled down I really wanted to find an outlet. An opportunity arose to join the Kerry Volunteer Centre as Press Officer and I jumped at the chance.
“It was a bit of a self-interested decision in some ways. I had retrained in Marketing and had worked for over a year in that field. The Press Officer role in the Kerry Volunteer Centre gives me an opportunity to give the full skill set a work out.
In her new role Mary gets to use her new marketing and PR skills but also gets to do what she loves most, to write. “Because of volunteering I get the opportunity to meet loads of new people, other volunteers, service providers, the professionals. It also allows me to get involved in the serious issues around volunteering and the fun times like National Volunteer Week,” Mary explained
Having gained full time employment and with limited time availability Mary, like many volunteers, had wondered where she could fit in volunteering. Understanding and responding to her limited availability the Volunteer Centre built flexibility into Mary’s volunteering role and as such she spends just an hour or two a week writing blogs, press releases and promoting Centre whenever and wherever she chooses.
“I really respect what the Volunteer Centre stands for, it has an ethos of bringing people together, sharing skills, developing abilities and building communities. Whether you have an hour to give once off or are happy to volunteer a few times a week- there is something for everyone,” Mary explained.
“For me it’s been a great way of keeping my skills up to date but also developing new ones. I had never written blogs before I started with Volunteer Centre, and it’s given me a new outlet to do what I love,” she added.
But more importantly Mary firmly believes that volunteering is good for the soul: “It’s easy when you lose your job, as I did in 2011, to step back. It really knocks the confidence. But volunteering allows you to get out there and do something useful. It helps you realise that yes I do have something to offer.
“When taking on a more regular volunteering job I did think initially that I might be putting too much pressure on myself. But volunteering is just that- volunteering, it’s not a job. If you don’t have the time or if you get snowed under with your 9 to 5 job then you can step back”.
“My advice is use the time you have- if a deadline suddenly seems becomes too real speak up- unlike a workplace volunteering organisations will be happy to work with you to a timeline that is more manageable.
It’s all about finding the right fit and the right organisation”.
According to Mary it’s far to easy to let your skills go and you never know when you might need them again. “Volunteering allows you to help someone while they do something for you in return. Volunteering with the Centre has given me a real insight into what goes on in organisations and groups around the county. It has opened my mind to the wealth of opportunities out there, to what volunteering can do not only for you as a person but for communities, building sense of Meitheal that has been tragically lost in the modern era of mobile phones and the internet.
“So this National Volunteering Week why not ‘Think Differently About Volunteering’- it’s changed my outlook and it could change yours too,” she added.
