Azhar, 23 Volunteering into Work

My volunteering includes working for two organisations, The Deen City Farm in Merton and Volunteer Centre Merton.

I first joined the farm as a Stables Assistant.

I learnt how to maintain the upkeep of the stables and developed my knowledge on the equipment that is used to keep the horses in good condition. In February 2009 I also joined the volunteer centre as an office assistant. My role is varied. It ranges from contacting volunteers using the volunteer database system, V-Base, to visiting public places and promoting the Youth Action Team project and helping to organise events. I have gained many transferable skills through volunteering, including many skills related to project management. For example I am currently contacting all the young volunteers who registered with VCM over the last couple of years as part of the efforts to achieve the Merton Local Area Agreement volunteering target. Another transferable skill I have gained is communicating effectively. I collect information about past voluntary work from volunteers, who include the number of hours they have completed and I help the volunteers to calculate and record this. I am always learning something knew and I think volunteering is a great place to start and to get to know people. I would recommend it to everyone. In the future I hope to use these skills to work in a laboratory; and I am exploring with Volunteer Centre Merton an additional volunteer placement in a hospital.

Recently VCM invited me to become a Trustee and join the Management Committee. This is a great honour and will give me unrivalled experience in management.