me, but also I wanted to believe in what the organisation did. A position opened up at Trek-
force so I jumped at the opportunity and am now loving every minute of it.
Of course, not only can volunteering enhance your CV, it can also give you valuable work
experience so you can change your career in a more strategic way when you come home.
This is what Michelle Hawkins, who volunteered in Costa Rica and Ghana, did:
I consciously chose to use my career break as a springboard into the charity and aid
sector. Job ads frequently state that you need experience in the sector. How can you get
the experience unless you already have a job in that sector? It’s a catch-22. My solu-
tion was to pay to be a volunteer staff member on two Raleigh International expedi-
tions. This made my transition into the competitive charity sector easier. I also got the
Raleigh International Expedition leaders to write me two references that I attached to
my CV when applying for jobs. It took me a year of applying, but I did it! I now work
for the international aid organisation Médecins du Monde as the communications and
fundraising officer.
next steps
Depending on what you did and how long you were away for, it can take between six and
12 months for you to settle back in properly, sometimes longer. In many cases, a volunteer
experience is not something you can, or want to, forget. Often you will wish to integrate it
into your life in some way. Some returned volunteers do this by changing careers, others
by becoming more involved with their charity or sending agency in their own country.
Others do it by volunteering locally or even internationally again.
Longer-term Links
It is often possible to maintain ongoing links with volunteer sending agencies once you
return home. After two and a half years of volunteering in Cambodia, Kerry Davies says:
I am now on the VSO steering committee. I am also an email and telephone contact per-
son for prospective volunteers either in the health sector or in Cambodia.
Poonam Sattee has gone one step further:
I stay in contact with the kids. I regularly send them cards, some are in email contact with
me and at Christmas I send out presents. I am also a newly appointed trustee for Casa
Alianza UK and that has helped me to still feel part of the organisation and to still be part
of the lives of the kids in an indirect way. I also fundraise for them.
And, Karen Hedges, who went to Madagascar with Azafady (p133), has also become
involved with the charity at this higher level. She explains:
When I came home I was keen to stay involved. After spending nine months living and
working in Madagascar I felt I could not just come home and forget about the projects and
the people. The managing director saw that I was keen to stay involved and approached
me about becoming a trustee. We have four or five trustee meetings per year, which usu-
ally happen on a Sunday and take up most of the day. We discuss how the charity is run
by analysing income and expenditure, fundraising ideas, web content, strategic planning
and the volunteer scheme. What I like about being a trustee is that you get involved in all
aspects of the charity. All trustees have different backgrounds so that helps us to bring dif-
ferent expertise to the charity.
Sarah Turton volunteered as an art, photography and English teacher in Ghana with the
Junior Art Club (p183) after she’d finished her Postgraduate Certificate in Education
(PGCE). When she came home she started her first proper teaching job in her home coun-
try. Ten months later she explains:
I am developing the link between the school in Ghana and the one I am now teaching in.
A Year 7 group has done the same photography project and next month we are exhibiting
both sets of work and raising money through sales and donations for both the school and
the organisation. In the longer term, we are hoping to take a team of teachers out on a re-
search trip with a view to getting an exchange programme up and running, plus enhancing
all areas of both curricula.
You might also establish longer-term links on a more personal level. When Jacqueline Hill
left Bangladesh she thought she might never see the people she worked with again, but as
she says:
As it turned out, I went back to visit in 2005 and hope to host a visit by two of my former
colleagues to the UK this year.Volunteer Locally
As the old saying goes, ‘Charity starts at home.’ If you’ve travelled to the ends of the earth
to volunteer and are now hooked, there are plenty of volunteering opportunities in your
home country.
In the UK one of the best places to start researching the options is at your local volunteer
centre. Otherwise, there are a number of useful websites that have comprehensive data-
bases of volunteering opportunities in your area:UK Websites
~ Community Service Volunteers (CSV; http://www.csv.org.uk) The UK’s largest volunteering
and training organisation.
~ Do-it.org.uk (www.do-it.org.uk) Lists over 650,000 volunteering opportunities in the UK.
It is free to register.
~ Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (www.csv-rsvp.org.uk) Part of CSV, this site
encourages those aged 50 plus to volunteer in England, Scotland and Wales.
~ Timebank (www.timebank.org.uk) Register your details and receive a list of organisations in
your area that need volunteers.
~ vinspired (http:vinspired.com) Aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds, this site encourages young
people to devote a period of time to volunteering. Certificates are awarded for 50 and
150 hours volunteering.
~ Volunteer Development Agency (www.volunteering-ni.org) Support, training and informa-
tion on volunteering in Northern Ireland.
~ Volunteer Development Scotland (www.vds.org.uk) Ditto for Scotland.
~ Volunteering England (www.volunteering.org.uk) National volunteer development organi-
sation for England.
~ Wales Council for Voluntary Action (www.wcva.org.uk) The voice of the voluntary sector
in Wales.North American Websites
~ AmeriCorps (www.americorps.gov) Often dubbed ‘the domestic Peace Corps,’ AmeriCorps
offers community service opportunities lasting 10 months to a year throughout the USA.
~ CoolWorks (www.coolworks.com/volunteer) This database lists volunteer jobs in great places
in the US, many in national parks.
~ Mercy Volunteer Corps (www.mercyvolunteers.org) Volunteer programmes in health,
education and poverty relief in rural and urban America; administered by the Catholic
Sisters of Mercy.09: Coming Home :Next Steps