December, 2020
This year, there is a new bauble on my Christmas tree reminding me of the contribution I have made to a charity I had never heard of before March 2020.
Looking back, this has been a year of negative emotions for so many of us:
- Anxiety caused by the fear of falling ill or losing loved ones
- Disappointment with jobs lost, businesses ruined, family celebrations cancelled
- Frustration at the inability to work, earn a living, travel
I was incredibly lucky to find an opportunity which sparked only positive emotions.
In April, just as I had been furloughed from my job as a charity fundraiser, I saw a post on LinkedIn by a Trustee of Flamingo Chicks, seeking volunteers.
Working for a charity is not so much a career choice as a vocation and fundraising is a way of life which doesn’t end when your working hours are officially over. Furlough was very challenging for the fundraising community as it prevented us from volunteering from the charities which employ us.
Here was a chance to volunteer for a new charity.
I began my volunteer role with Flamingo Chicks by carrying out some research.
This quickly expanded to becoming part of the team working on the May100 Challenge. This fundraising event brought together a diverse group of employees, volunteers and supporters and was a great success.
I learnt new skills, moving on to the job of editing the subtitles on a dance video on You Tube.
Volunteering for this wonderful charity brought me some focus and purpose during the first lockdown. More importantly, realising what a difference the charity’s work made to families who were in a terribly difficult situation caring for disabled children gave me perspective.
I would recommend the volunteering experience with Flamingo Chicks, it has given me:
- A sense of purpose and perspective
- Enrichment through learning new skills
- Satisfaction of being involved with a team who are doing a vital job to help so many young people.
