fig.

Cid, volunteering scheme

inclu es the c cc to be a steward at m festivals such as Glastonbury ail! “hill. See oxfam.org.uk for mono.

ENGAGE

Work/life experince

It’s a great way to enhance your CV, and is proven to be good for mental health. There are plenty of reasons to get into volunteering, discovers Andrew Burnet.

ork/life balance: it‘s one

of the buzz-phrases of this decade. Too many of

us work too hard for too long and spend too little time living. So when

you finally do get some time off. the

last thing you want to do is more work. right‘.’ Well. not necessarily. A change

can be as good as a rest sometimes

even better. If you‘re cooped tip in

an office all day. a bit of exercise ;

could be exactly what you need: and there‘s nothing like community spirit to make you feel good about yourself. These days. a growing number of people are taking on voluntary work. and a network of referral centres is making it easier to find the right niche for your particular skills.

‘The reasons for volunteering are as varied as the people who volunteer.‘ says Paul Wilson. manager of core services at

Volunteer (‘entre Edinburgh. ‘()f

course a lot of people just say. "I want to help out." and that‘s a very important motivation. But other people will come to volunteering because they want to improve their social life or because they‘re driven by a cause: they might have very strong opinions on the environment or animals. for example. Or they might want to gain skills with a view to employment.

‘But a lot of it‘s about enjoyment. You're not getting paid for this. so you're going to have to get

102 THE LIST 1 1—25 May 2006

something out of it. That could be getting out of the house on a Tuesday night and away from the kids: or it could be trying to change the world. It‘s as broad as that.‘

Volunteer (‘entre lidinburgh is one of42 centres all over Scotland. liach is independently run. but all are linked by a portal website. and most have adopted the distinctive blue plectrum logo of the Volunteer (‘entre network.

If you have a particular enthusiasm. there’s nothing to stop you approaching an organisation you think might be looking for help. That‘s what biology student

Katherine Puttick did. and it led to a dream job (see panel). But this way you might not get quite what you hoped for. Your local charity shop may not welcome your plans for a retro-chic makeover: or your chosen inay be

organisation over-

subscribed. As Wilson points out. 'lidinburgh Dog and (‘at Home never advertises with us: they've got a queue of people down the street wanting to volunteer.’

The advantage of going through a Volunteer ('entre is that it can tailor an opportunity to your skills and interests. With (350 opportunities to

‘PEOPLE COME IN, SEE WHAT'S ON OFFER AND THINK, WOW, I DIDN'T REALISE I COULD DO THAT.’

choose from in the lidinburgh centre. some guidance can be very helpful. 'Seriously. the opportunities is quite amazing.’ says Wilson. ‘A lot of people think volunteering must be quite basic or unskilled work. but that‘s not the case. We have organisations

advertising for a whole range of

skills. liight out of ten times. people will walk away with something completely different from what they expected. They‘ve come in. they‘ve seen what's on offer and thought. Wow I didn't realise l could do that. And they walk away with it. 'We also have a system here in Edinburgh where people can advertise themselves. And we find

variety of

that's very popular for people with professional skills.‘

'l‘empted‘.’ If so. there are various ways you can proceed. liither \isil your local Volunteer (‘entre and get help finding otit what’s on offer. or try searching the database yourself. You can search by type of work. type of organisation. geographical location or a combination of all three. ()r if you prefer to let your thumb do the talking. you can get in contact by text.

Volunteers don't take home a pay packet. but they do feel that little bit richer.

VOLUNTEER CENTRE CONTACT DETAILS

All Volunteer Centres (:an be contacted Via the portal website www.volunteerscotland.org.uk As well as general intorination and “MRS to the websites of indIVIdual Volunteer Centres. this website contains; a searebable database of volunteering opportunities

Volunteer Centres can also be contacted by texting the word ‘Volunteer' to 6161 1. Clackmannanshire: 14 Bank Street. Alloa. 01259 215 23/. East Dunbartonshire: 10 Rocbdale Place, Kirkintilloeb, 0141 578 6680. East Lothian: Poldrate Granary, Haddington. 01620 82.9 036. East Renfrewshire: Q Burniieid Road, Giflnor;k_ 0141 638 7000. Edinburgh: 45 Oueenstern/ Street Lane. 0131 225 0630. Falkirk: Old Sneritt COurt. Hope Street, 01324 692 000. Fife: 29A Canmore Street. Dunterinline. 01383 312 015; also 10 St Brycedale Avenue. Kirkcaldy, 01.892 412369; also 69 Crossgate. Cupar. 01334 412 998, Glasgow: 84 Miller Street. 0141226 3431. Midlothian: Unit 18. Hardengreen Busmess Centre. Dalhousre Road. Dalkeitb, 0131 663 6165. North Lanarkshire: 94 Main Street, Wishaw. 01698 358 866. South Lanarkshire: 14 Townhead Street. Hamilton, 01698 286 902. Stirling: 15 Friars Street. 01786 446 071. West Dunbartonshire: Arcadia Busmess Centre. Miller Lane. Clydebank. 0141 952 7569. West Lothian: 6 Mansefield Street. Bathgate. 01506 650 1 t 1.