Today marks the first day of Volunteers Week so it seems the perfect time to introduce myself! I joined MDUK as Volunteer Engagement Manager in March this year, and since then I’ve had the pleasure of meeting an array of incredible volunteers. It’s cliché to say that volunteers are inspirational, selfless and wonderful people but it’s hard to express how I’ve felt when meeting MDUK volunteers without resorting to these clichés!
So first and foremost, I want to thank the hundreds of volunteers who give their time to us, whether it’s one day for an event or many years as a trustee. We couldn’t do our work to change the lives of people living with muscle-wasting conditions without you all.
One of the first things that struck me as I started at MDUK was how many different ways volunteers support our work. From providing peer support to organising fundraising events, from making decisions on awarding grants for powered mobility equipment as part of our JPT Panel to moderating our forum to chairing Muscle Group meetings. You can find volunteers in every corner of MDUK’s work. Find out more about our volunteering roles.
As a volunteer manager, especially when starting a new role, you often worry that other staff members won’t get as excited about volunteers as you. That they may not see the value of volunteering or have the time to manage volunteers effectively. Luckily for me (and for our volunteers!), this definitely isn’t the case at MDUK. All of my colleagues are equally grateful for the support of volunteers, and appreciate the value and importance of making sure those volunteers have a fulfilling experience.
The last year has undoubtedly been a strange one, and that’s why we’re so grateful that our volunteers continued to support us throughout. During lockdown, we had volunteer support on the helpline for the first time. This allowed us to keep the helpline running five days a week even with part of the staff team on furlough. Our peer support volunteers also continued to offer their time with some volunteers being trained to offer guidance on how to access Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – more vital than ever during a time that many faced financial uncertainty Corporate volunteers helped us to take campaigns to the next level, for example the Walk with Carmela fundraising campaign. We can’t thank you all enough.
So what’s next for volunteering at MDUK? All being well with COVID-19 restrictions, our live events will be back in the autumn so we’ll be looking for volunteers to help out at these. Our Regional Development team are always keen for volunteers who’d like to organise fundraising events or act as an ambassador for MDUK in their local area. Our Muscle Group meetings are coming back in the next few weeks. Volunteers chair some of these meetings already, and we’re keen to have more volunteers lead these important meetings. We’re also beginning to explore having more volunteers on the helpline, and thinking of ways to expand our peer support network.
And we want to bring volunteers together too! Many of you have told us you’ve made new friends through volunteering, so we want to make sure you get the chance to meet each other. We’ll find ways to bring volunteers together online and organise in-person volunteer socials when safe to do so.
So watch this space for new volunteering roles and new ways to connect with other MDUK volunteers. And if you’d like to find out more about volunteering, we’d love to have you involved. Please do get in touch.