"To be able to help others in their situation helped me to move forward with my own"

Marian is an inspiring volunteer who volunteers for a range of organisations in lots of different ways. We spoke to Marion to hear all about her fantastic volunteering journey. Tell us a bit about yourself I used to teach Modern Languages but in 2010 I took early retirement and moved to Hertfordshire in order to help my daughter with childcare so that she and her husband could continue to work in demanding but enjoyable jobs. Why did you decide to start volunteering? At first (when I retired), I felt very isolated as I didn't know anyone in the area except the young mothers in the mother and baby clubs. They were warm and welcoming but I did feel like a fish out of water. My lifelines were the Grandparent and Toddler group which ran at Letchworth under the Surestart initiative, and the French and German speaking groups run by the Letchworth Arts and Leisure Group. As my granddaughter and her little brother grew older, I started to use my newly acquired free time to volunteer for the Grandparent and Toddler group and to wash up at my local church luncheon club. I wanted to give back something after having gained so much from the local community. Covid has put an end to both of these volunteering activities but it has enabled me to take on new challenges. What do you do within your volunteer role/ roles? I am now the contact for two walking groups within the umbrella organisation of the Letchworth Arts and Leisure Group. We walk at least twice a month and this enables me to meet newly retired people and newcomers to the area, welcoming them just as I was welcomed. I have also been able to use my teaching skills throughout the pandemic. I help Herts Welcomes Refugees by holding weekly zoom meetings with a local Syrian family so that they can practise their English and I have become a school governor - again meeting on zoom. I was alerted to the need for action in both these cases by St Mary's Church in Baldock. I also volunteer for Barnardo's, who hold the contract for children's services in Hertfordshire. During the pandemic I have helped them assemble holiday craft packs for disadvantaged children. As the situation has eased, the Barnardo's volunteer co-ordinators have linked me to a family with English as a second language. I have helped this family to fill in application forms for a nursery place and enabled them to use English in play and story telling. We now meet outside in local playgrounds every week. My other delightful role for Barnardo's is helping at a Baby weigh clinic, I welcome mothers, check their temperatures, help with the administration at the clinic and make sure that everyone wears a mask and sanitises their hands! Why would you recommend volunteering to others? Volunteering has given me so much pleasure - it's added interest and challenge to my life: planning lessons and play sessions, talking to people whose life experiences are different from my own, using simple, practical skills and my professional knowledge of grammar and language teaching. I have made friends with other volunteers and I am never bored. I have met with a great deal of kindness and friendship from the people of Hertfordshire, it is very empowering to be able to return this goodwill. Volunteering keeps me young!

Tell us a bit about yourself Although past the state pension age I still work part-time in IT and I volunteer at Countryside Management Service (CMS). What do you do within your volunteering role? I help people access the countryside in a number of ways. This could be by clearing rights of way, installing kissing gates and building boardwalks. I also encourage biodiversity by, among others, clearing scrub, opening up areas of woodland, coppicing and tree planting. How long have you been a volunteer? 12 years Why did you decide to start volunteering? Changes in my desk-based job meant I had some spare time and I was looking for an outside role which would involve physical exercise, doing something useful for the community and have a social aspect. Why would you recommend volunteering to others? You can get a lot of satisfaction from helping other people and making a small difference to their lives at no cost to themselves. It’s also good for your physical and mental health.

At the beginning of June, we celebrated Volunteers' Week and many organisations chose to mark the occasion in different ways. In June, DLRC Ltd used their annual team building days for good and volunteered their time to support a local not-for-profit, Church Farm Ardeley . Over 90 employees took part in the volunteering days and worked together to complete a variety of different tasks that were associated with their theme - sustainability. Some of these tasks included: Painting the Rural Care shed (a shed dedicated to hosting schools that visit the farm for children with learning disabilities) Sowing 500 butternut squash and protecting them with netting Weeding leek beds and an enormous bed of onions Feeding 350 chickens Sorting, grading and boxing 5 days of eggs And that’s only a few of their achievements, DLRC Ltd managed to accomplish ten weeks of volunteer's tasks in just one day! On their second day of their team-building activities, DLRC enjoyed a talk by Tony Juniper from Natural England on the topic of sustainability including how DLRC can contribute as organisation and how individuals can take action. Whilst The Little Recreations and Tentshare teams explained that their camping equipment used at Church Farm, would be upcycled and reused at festivals/ campsites all over the country. The Jolly Waggoner pub across the road from Church Farm, kindly treated the team to some amazing and delicious meals. And despite the rain, the team camped overnight around a warm and cosy fire. They described their time as a “very fun and rewarding couple of days”. Another employee added “it felt incredibly good to be helping the local community and spending our precious time doing something worthwhile outdoors”. Dianne Lee, Managing Director of DLRC Ltd thanked the Church Farm and MotivAction teams immensely for making DLRC Ltd feel welcome during their days as volunteers and for helping them to make a difference. Dianne also thanked all employees that took part for putting in the effort to make their partnership with Church Farm a big success. DLRC's experience of Corporate Volunteering is testament to the immense benefit that giving back has on employees wellbeing. Volunteering programmes can also act as a powerful engagement and retention tool, read more here . If you would like more information on Corporate Volunteering, contact us today . Find out more about DLRC Ltd here . Interested in supporting Church Farm Ardeley? Explore their volunteering opportunities on GoVolHerts here