At the start of June,
Aware held its first ever Volunteer Open Day.
The Open Day was designed to show the different ways in which one can volunteer for Aware (the charity that aims to defeat depression in Ireland which I have been a supporter of for the past year) and took place in no. 5 South Leinster Street, Dublin - a part of the National Gallery of Ireland which would remind you of Limerick's Georgian House (where the networking event
"This is Limerick" took place).
Upon arrival, visitors were provided with a welcome pack which contained information on the huge varieties of opportunities for volunteers. They were invited to take a seat in the magnificent conference room to have a look though the options, ranging from roles that require only a few hours volunteering per year (e.g. Aware 10K Run; Daisy Days) to roles within Aware’s support services which require a weekly commitment of 2-3 hours. They could then continue to the next room which was filled with volunteers from the various areas including fundraising, the online support groups, the Aware charity shop and the lo-call helpline to name a few. There was also tea, coffee and biscuits available. I was there to greet people as they arrived, mingle with the potential volunteers and to share my experience of volunteering with Aware.
The day was a great success that saw over 100 visitors arriving within the first few hours.
If you are interested in volunteering with Aware, then please take the time to read the following few paragraphs taken from the Aware website which you can visit by clicking
here:
Ongoing Opportunities
Helpline
Volunteers needed for our Dublin-based
loCall helpline listening service (open 365 days a year). Next closing date for applications is September 20, with interviews and training following shortly afterwards.
Commitment: Approx. 20 hours of classroom training, 15hrs of practical training and 3 hours shadowing a support group. Once trained, volunteers are required to cover one three-hour slot at least every week. Apply now.Online Support Groups
Our online support group service needs facilitators. Psychiatric training is not required - if you are a good listener who can empathise well with people, we'd love to hear from you. Both new facilitators and those already trained for our real-world support groups are welcome.
Commitment: Initial training with follow-up workshops as needed. Sessions last 90 minutes or so each and you would be expected to facilitate one session a week. Apply now.Support Groups
Aware has a network of depression support groups that take place throughout the country, with each meeting run by trained facilitators. We are particularly looking for people in Mullingar, Cavan and Dundalk to help develop groups in those areas - call Anne on 086 162 9948 for more information. All applications welcome, however!
Commitment: Initial training with follow-up training workshops. Support groups meet weekly and facilitators are usually required on a weekly/fortnightly basis. Apply now.Email support service
Aware offers depression support by email. Next closing date for applications is October 17, with interviews and training following shortly afterwards.
Commitment: Approx. 15 hours of classroom training, 10 hours of practical training and 3 hours shadowing a support group. Volunteers should be able to commit to at least one period of around 3 hours per week. Apply now.Aware Publication
Aware is currently developing a new publication to keep service users, supporters and friends of the organisation informed about news and developments. We may be looking for contributors some time from June onwards so watch this space for information on appropriate articles, editorial guidelines, etc. We look forward to bringing you our new and improved publication in the summer!
Also, please check out Aware's newest fundraiser Cycle4Aware by clicking here.
Until Next Time,
xxx Sami xxx
P.S. Photos coming soon!
