“Act as if what you do, makes a difference, it does…”
Picture: Me at the Event I organised to raise proceeds for the Maggie’s Centre, in 2019.
I am extremely passionate about National Volunteer Week. For as long as I can remember, I have been a ‘volunteer,’ to some degree… It all started when I was about 8 years old, on a warm day in my local village, where my dad caught me selling on cans of coke he had bought, to all the neighbours. I raised £50 that day and donated this to the local cancer research shop. This is when I started to get a real buzz from feeling like I was helping people, whether it be through raising money or donating my time.
Fundraising is massive for me, but the actual volunteering part began when my Granny (who had a massive influence in my life) used to take me to her church, where she was the head social convenor. I used to help wash dishes, set tables and lug around half the furniture within Morningside Parish Church (Edinburgh) from a very young age.
When I was at school, I took part in various charity initiatives whether they be bake sales or fun runs. I entered the Youth Philanthropy Initiative in fifth year, where my friends and I created a video on a local charity (Edinburgh Clothing Store - ECS) and we raised £3,000 for them. This was a charity I was always involved in as I started volunteering at coffee mornings for ECS Store (who receive no government funding.) I am now on the ‘coffee rota’ at Morningside Parish church, which I do every four weeks, and all proceed raised from this, go towards ECS, which really is an amazing charity. I also donate my clothes to the ECS, for someone else to enjoy. The proceeds of the coffee mornings at the church, also go towards two other amazing charities – The pad foundation and the Bethany trust. The ECS have an annual coffee morning every November which I am always involved in too and this usually generates around £3,000 for this charity.
My love for helping people has grown over time and when my granny sadly passed away in 2018, I decided I needed to give something back. As I had a lot of contacts within her church, I decided it was a great place to start… I am now also involved in an elderly men’s club, which involves me keeping in touch with a few vulnerable, elderly people within the community and getting this group together, for entertainment or activities. Over the month of August, we take them on three trips – these have ranged from Blair Drummond Safari Park to Bo’ness motor museum. Due to my granny being in a wheelchair for the latter year of her life, I had a lot of experience caring for someone in a wheelchair and thus wanted to be involved in this group and put this skill to good use.
Since my granny was diagnosed with cancer, I have organised bag packing for Marie Curie and the Little Princess trust, two more amazing charities. Whilst ‘volunteering’ is not the same as fundraising, I want to briefly touch on some of the ‘volunteering,’ I have done for charities – which all stems from the quote “Act as if what you do, makes a difference, it does…” After losing my granny in 2018, I organised two different fundraising initiatives. The first was a coffee morning at Morningside parish church which allowed me to fundraise enough money to buy a ‘chair bed,’ for relatives to sleep on, overnight in Ward 8 of the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. The left-over proceeds from this event also allowed the nurses who had looked after my granny to have a pamper day, in the ward.
The second fundraising initiative I undertook was a charity ball at the corn exchange in 2019. I reached out to organisations such as Mulberry to ask them to donate raffle prizes. I had over 53 raffle prizes and between the raffle, catering, and games, I raised over £7,000. Both these events alone have raised over £10,000 for Ward 8 Oncology at the Western General Hospital and Maggie’s Centre, Edinburgh. Maggie’s centre is a brilliant initiative, and more information can be found about it here. In a previous role, I organised a fundraiser for CHAS – which raised over £1,000.
My point is that no matter what your contribution is, it makes a difference. There are a range of opportunities to volunteer and to work with charities to help make a difference and one of the greatest gifts you can give is your time so if you can spare any time at all throughout your busy week to volunteer, I can guarantee it would be greatly appreciated…. and to all other volunteers, thank you and keep going! It really does make such a difference, whatever your contribution.
Blog written by Rachel Kennedy, Events and Relationships Manager, Scottish Financial Enterprise