I first think I should introduce myself. Hi I’m Emily and I’m the OG (original) work placement student for HOPE in Community and I’ve decided to create a blog to tell you all about my time here and why you should consider volunteering too.
The first thing I realised from the get go is that everyone is like family. From the moment you are introduced to Peter and everyone else you immediately feel respected and valued within the charity. Everyone within HOPE is so kind and respectful to each other that there I never a day you want to miss volunteering. I could guarantee you’d want to get up every morning and come volunteer for HOPE because, yes, it is that great. Comfortability has always been something that I’ve valued within a workplace and at HOPE they give you that and so much more. Not only am I excited to come in every Monday and see everyone, I’m also always super excited to learn and adapt my skills through all the tasks that are given to me.
Before joining HOPE, I was socially awkward. As most people are. I never really enjoyed eye contact or social interaction that much but I honestly never thought of trying to improve it because that was just me. I was a pro-procrastinator and loved to just get by instead of trying new things. However, coming to join HOPE gave me new found confidence and motivation. I’ve gone from speaking to nobody to everybody in a matter of months. I’d like to personally thank Peter for that. There’s never a dull moment with him and he always tries to push me to build my skills to make me not just a better volunteer but a better person as a whole. He’s really helped me to understand what I need to do to help myself grow and be able to help others as much as he does. For a man who never stops he's always the biggest light in the darkest room. That’s just the HOPE way. All of the volunteers are so amazing and treat everyone with respect and love. We all constantly push each other to become better people.
I do many jobs at HOPE in Community. Which include but are not limited to social media, fundraising planning and helping out around the support hub. I am also looking to hopefully complete training to become a listener in the charity’s listening service. I am currently studying Level 3 Business at college and hoping to do events management in university. Doing my work placement at HOPE has been really beneficial for me and helped me to develop my skills I need to become a successful event planner. It has also helped me with my personal skills that I need to get through life. I honestly couldn’t recommend HOPE in Community enough. I really hope I’ve convinced you to start looking into volunteering with us because I can guarantee you’ll fall in love with it.
Thank you for reading my blog and I hope to see some of your lovely faces soon.
