Community Quilt! - Volunteer Voices Forum
This week at the Dudson Centre, the VAST team had the opportunity to meet our community of volunteers for the Volunteer Voices Forum. This is a chance for volunteers to connect and get involved sharing their experience: with a side of arts and crafts!
The VAST Volunteer Voices Forum is a peer support space to give volunteers in and around Stoke-on-Trent an opportunity to provide valuable insight, share ideas and improve volunteering in the local area.
At this year’s forum, we asked our volunteers to discuss commonality of volunteering experiences and the impact it’s had on them. As part of the National Vision for Volunteering, VAST are inspiring opportunities for volunteers to foster individuality and expression in their roles.
Between cups of tea and diligent glue-stick decorating, volunteers traded stories and came together. Whether they worked closely with peers or quietly supported causes, they’d made a huge impact out in their respective communities. We discovered that it hadn’t mattered if the scope had been big or small to the community, the personal (quiet) impact was empowering volunteers in their own lives. Many have continued to ‘pay-it-forward’ in their groups through active community building and involvement beyond.
Some of the recurring reflections upon shared volunteer experiences gave insight into personal impact for the sector. Here are some of the lovely suggestions we had!
‘Volunteering helps with …’
- Meeting new friends and people
- Recognising people’s value
- Tackling loneliness
- Embracing different perspectives and experiences
- Confidence and self-belief
- Growth through knowledge and building trust
- Gaining new skills
- Being involved in community
- Loving … ‘from the heart’
- Having fun!
Volunteers worked together to create a vibrant community quilt, each patch designed by an individual to reflect their positive impact generated by volunteering. We explored their impactful, shared experiences through creative expression.
Volunteers given their space to self-express reported that their lived experiences were valued in informing and delivering assistance to others in need.
Creating an environment where individuality is encouraged helps volunteers feel valued for their unique contributions. Holistic approaches to accessibility help to reduce barriers across all communities, creating organic inclusion with genuine connections.
At VAST, we want to encourage organisations to create opportunities for self-expression and integration of individuality in the roles they create.
Between cups of tea and diligent glue-stick decorating, volunteers traded stories and came together. Whether they worked closely with peers or quietly supported causes, they’d made a huge impact out in their respective communities. We discovered that it hadn’t mattered if the scope had been big or small to the community, the personal (quiet) impact was empowering volunteers in their own lives. Many have continued to ‘pay-it-forward’ in their groups through active community building and involvement beyond.
Using a creative outlet made a perfect catalyst for conversations and knowledge sharing. This collaborative artwork celebrates the diversity of our volunteer community, while weaving our shared experiences together.
Thank you to the fabulous volunteers at Expert Citizens, Project Indi and RISE for sharing their stories and experiences with us.
A huge thank you to Gloria Dix in the volunteering team at VAST for hosting the Volunteer Voices Forum and getting crafty with our volunteers!
