Today’s kind act is a bit of a cheat because we’ve been busy today visiting Father Christmas!! 🎅🏻🎄
However, today is all about volunteering. I could talk all day about how great volunteering is- for you, for the people you help, for the community. There have been lots of studies to suggest that volunteering improves not only your mental health and well-being but also your physical well-being too. 💪🧠
When we moved back to Salisbury, I knew that I wanted to volunteer because it also helps you to meet people and become part of a community quickly.
I used the Community First Wiltshire website to find volunteering opportunities. The minute I found @Homestartuk I knew it would be for me. I loved volunteering with children and young people in Cheltenham but I knew that I would find it really rewarding this time supporting the parents with young children instead. It’s the toughest job out there!! They are a fantastic charity offering phone and home support for any parent with a child under 5 who want support for a variety of reasons. So I completed my training with @homestartsouthwiltshire back in October and look forward to supporting my first family in the new year. Hopefully, we’ll be allowed back in homes soon!
Sam on the other hand has been really busy with Sands United FC who meet for their first training session tomorrow evening. I couldn’t be prouder of how he has taken on this volunteering project. I basically pushed him into it because I knew that he would have loved to go to something like this but there just wasn’t anything like it in the Salisbury area. He has stepped up to the plate and dedicated so much of time and energy into not just the logistics, fundraising and recruitment but also already supporting fellow bereaved fathers who are going through a tough time.
One of the things I love most about Sam is that he gets so excited and passionate about the things and people he believes in and I know that he will help so many men with this group. He’s already started helping. At the end of the day, he is a grieving father who has lost his daughter and supported his wife through 2 miscarriages this year and yet he is digging deep and using those experiences to help others. I know @sufcsalisbury will go from strength to strength and he’s the perfect man for the job.
If YOU want to volunteer- it is worth just putting in a google search as your local council may well have a website that shows you all the opportunities near you. Most volunteering opportunities will fit around your schedule and are very flexible- you may even be able to volunteer from the comfort of your own home (especially at the moment) using your phone or computer.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Arthur Ashe
Better for Etta 