Stories from the Edge - Volunteer Now

Before long, the group had agreed on an identity - VOYCE, and they set about planning an event to celebrate theInternational Year of Volunteers. Over the course of a year, the young people worked tirelessly to plan the event, recruitingnew members such as Claire andOrla along the way. At the event,Peter and another member of theVOYCE group Sheila spokeconfidently of their experiences asvolunteers, and encouraged theirpeers to join in the celebration, andto accept the challenge ofMillennium Volunteers.But why would young people wantto get involved in volunteer work?“Orla’s comment illuminatesthe very essence ofvolunteering”Perplexity comes over the young volunteers faces. Then one smiles while the others look even more suspicious. Peteranswers that it looks good on their Curriculum Vitae. A very fair answer. These young people are clearly not from ‘thetrouble with kids today’ variety.Peter is helping out a lot with the St Vincent de Paul. He is the veteran of the trio and has been around the scheme a bitlonger. Peter explains he works closely with other VOYCE members who befriend those with disabilities. He insists that noteveryone can become involved immediately in this work and that there is a urgent need for proper vetting procedures.Peter is proud that he has managed to clear these hurdles and moved on to helping through his volunteer work.Orla and Claire are young ladies who are recent recruits. They hope to help people less privileged than themselves. Clairecollects a lottery, the proceeds of which goes toward Northern Ireland Hospice. She wants eventually to go to Romania towork in a kindergarten helping Romanian children less fortunate than herself. She explains she has been involved with theMake a Wish group helping terminally ill children to fulfil their special wishes. Claire also has her parents to thank forgetting her involved in her community she explains with characteristic enthusiasm.Orla wants to help the disabled. She believes it will give her plenty of life enhancing experience. She certainly has definiteideas about where she is going in life. Orla claims the person who has influenced her to give volunteering a chance is hermother. Orla seems to be close to her mother. Her face softens when she tells how her mother was and is a volunteer. Shesaid, “My mother said I should get some experience so I thought I would try volunteering. We are getting something outof this, and it is very rewarding helping others,” Orla added. Coming from a group so initially hesitant to speak aboutthemselves Orla’s comment illuminates the very essence of volunteering.