Natalie Baird: Marketing VolunteerNatalie volunteers at Hove YMCA through @ctive student, which links current University of Brighton students with a variety of volunteering opportunities in the local community. Her volunteering contributed to her course in Psychology and Sociology whilst providing much needed behind-the-scenes work to the Older People’s Lunch Club and Marketing Department.
Interview with Natalie
Haeji: What are you going to do today?
Natalie: I am going to write an article for the Hove YMCA website.
Haeji: What other things, if any, do you do with Hove YMCA?
Natalie: Promotion work for the Older People’s Club and lunch club & administrative work for the Marketing department
Haeji: What do you do outside of Hove YMCA?
Natalie: I am a Psychology & Sociology student at Brighton University
Haeji: How did you first get involved with Hove YMCA?
Natalie: I need to do 50 hours of volunteer work for my course. Hove YMCA did a presentation at the university so I decided to do my voluntary work for Hove YMCA.
Haeji: What’s the best thing about volunteering?
Natalie: Helping other people and getting involved in the community.
Haeji: Is there anything you’ve found difficult or challenging about volunteering?
Natalie: Learning how to upload content onto the website.
Haeji: What’s the most fun bit about volunteering?
Natalie: Making friends and having fun with people.
Haeji: What’s the most important thing you’ve learnt from volunteering?
Natalie: Learning IT skills, which will be good for my CV and future employment.
Haeji: What are you looking forward to doing next?
Natalie: Writing up articles and publishing them on the website.
Haeji: Do you think you’ve gained any skills/learnt new things in any way?
Natalie: IT skills and promotion work – I designed posters for the Older People’s Club. Also learning about working well in a team but also independently.
Haeji: Do you have any advice/comments for someone who would like to do volunteering?
Natalie: It’s a great thing to do, good for helping people and making friends. It is also good for your CV.
Haeji: How would you sum up your volunteering experience in 3 words?
Natalie: Helpful, skills & friendly-environment.
Interview with Line Manager
Ross Wignall, Website Coordinator, supported Natalie to volunteer in the marketing department and answered some questions about volunteering...
Haeji: What & where is the service you provide?
Ross: I coordinate the development of the website – the articles and information.
Haeji: How long has the volunteer been working for your service?
Ross: 3 months
Haeji: What work does the volunteer do?
Ross: She prepares research, articles and publishes on the website.
Haeji: How has the volunteer contributed to your service?
Ross: She has been an enthusiastic member of the team and has brought a youthful dynamism to the marketing/communications department.
Haeji: What do you think the volunteer has gained/learnt from their experience? (Improved confidence, skills, etc)
Ross: She’s gained experience in working in a communications environment, working to deadlines, working with editors and working as a team. She’s been learning how to edit and publish her work as well as technical online publishing skills.
Haeji: How would your service manage without volunteers?
Ross: With volunteers we can extend our scope and run more stories, presenting more information and events on the website.
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