From doubt to discovery: how volunteering changed Rowenna

Rowenna shares her story about how she started volunteering with Volunteer Cambs.

After a bereavement and having to stop work for related reasons, I found myself at home a lot, feeling lost and a little like I didn’t have much going on. A friend suggested I try volunteering but I must admit, I was a little apprehensive, mainly because I didn’t know where to start or what I wanted to do. I had spent eleven years in the same job, doing the same thing and I wondered if I had any other skills to offer. But the thought of sitting around feeling sorry for myself for any longer didn’t seem like much of life, and it had become too easy to just stay in the house every day and so I nervously searched for local volunteer organisations online.

It was surprisingly quick and easy to find somewhere, at the top of the results was Volunteer Cambs, and looking around their website, I was amazed that there were so many opportunities and that so many people needed volunteers. Years ago, I had thought of volunteering but assumed that it was quite difficult to get involved.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I really just wanted to help someone and to feel useful. After a little bit of searching, I came across a position with Volunteer Cambs themselves asking for someone to help with data entry and to support others with using the website. I wouldn’t say that I immediately thought I had all of the skills, but it sounded very much like something that I would enjoy and so I sent a message offering to help.

Fast forward about five months and I’m still volunteering and have found that I was much more capable than I had told myself I was. It can be a little daunting starting over, and even the smallest of responsibilities can seem scary, but everyone in the office has been great and they were welcoming from day one. I have learnt new skills, remembered ones that I had forgotten and gained back some of my confidence.

Volunteering really made a difference to my life, thank goodness I clicked on Volunteer Cambs! The whole experience, from simply creating my volunteer account to turning up on my first day was so easy and enjoyable. I would now recommend volunteering to anyone who was thinking of trying it, and of course, I’d be directing them to Volunteer Cambs. It really does make a difference.

 All of the Volunteer Cambs team thank Rowenna for her wonderful support!