Volunteers’ Week during the first week of June celebrates and recognises the contributions of volunteers. At Forward Carers we appreciate and value our volunteers all year round. Anne was a Carer Ambassador for Forward Carers for over five years, here she shares her volunteering journey.
“I had been working as a Primary School teacher when my daughter was born in 1994. Quite early on she was diagnosed with a complex physical disability, but I managed to continue to work with the help of family and a lovely childminder.
Four years later, when my son was born with the same condition, I knew it was time to give up work.
Juggling doctor’s appointments with my need to be a good teacher was just too stressful. It soon became apparent, though, that I needed to have some other purpose in my life, something not too demanding that I could fit around my family life, so I began volunteering.
At first it was just helping out with the running of the Parent Carer Support Group I was attending, this rapidly moved on to a City-wide Parent Carer support role with the charity Link-Upp Birmingham. I was hooked!
Over the following 25 years I’ve been involved with Parent Carer Forums, Carers UK, Forward Carers and Contact. I was a special school governor for 20 years and I used to run a Parent Carer befriending service…. all as a volunteer.
Volunteering felt right for me, it gave me a sense of accomplishment and purpose, yet I knew that if I needed to take a step back to care for myself, or my children, theret would be no problem.
When my son settled living independently, I realised that I now had the opportunity to look for paid work. I was really worried about how my CV would look to potential employers, after all a 25-year employment gap needs some explaining.
Fortunately, one of my volunteer roles was as an Ambassador for Forward Carers, and when I noticed a paid role with their team being advertised, I enquired if they thought I should apply. The staff helped me to appreciate where my volunteer roles had given me “transferrable skills” for work and encouraged me to go through with an application. I was nervous at my first interview in such a long time, and ultimately, I did not get that job, but I was given very positive feedback.
Soon after, a part-time role at Forward Carers became available and I was successful in getting that one! Working part-time really suits me as a transition from volunteering. I’m really enjoying being back in work after so long, I had thought it would never be something that I’d have the confidence to do again, but anything is possible with the right support!”
Volunteering With Forward Carers
Volunteers are at the heart of Forward Carers. The contribution from volunteers enables us to expand our services and bring valuable insights from diverse community perspectives. We have different opportunities available depending on your interests and skills.
