There is a real need for Cake Angels, Bun Fairies, Garden Wombles and other assorted volunteering and helping opportunities within the Bircham Centre, as it operates at the heart of our Reepham Community. This was a key message that came out of a Volunteering and Helping event held recently.
The Centre Manager, Polly Brockis, explained to the well-attended event that there were a large range of opportunities to support the work of the Centre. ‘We very much run on cakes, buns and goodwill’, she said. ‘There are a huge range of things, some big and some small, that enable us to keep the Centre warm and welcoming for everyone.
Small actions make a difference
Chairs and bins can be blown around the beautiful garden in high winds and unwanted deposits left, (local dog owners, please have the decency to clear up after your pet – children play in the Bircham Centre garden). A Garden Womble (or two) could check on it now and then and tidy anything out of place, to keep it safe and clean for our visitors.
If you love baking, maybe you could make a little extra occasionally and donate a cake or two for the various activities we run, such as the Warm-Room, Board Games and Knit and Natter, as everything goes better with tea and a cake! Our new ‘Skills Bank’ is looking for people who can offer help when there’s an electrical, plumbing or building issue, or a bit of decorating to do.
There are also vacancies on the Board of Trustees for people who want to become involved in the strategic steering of the Centre, with the intention of securing this community space for future generations.
The Volunteering and Helping Event heard powerful and often moving testimonies from those who are already giving a little of their time as volunteers. The overwhelming message from these real-life stories was that volunteering is a positive experience for them. They feel they are making a difference in the lives of others, it gives them a sense of personal achievement, and they meet lots of new people.
The wider picture
These personal stories were in alignment with nation research carried out by the National Council for Voluntary Organisation (NCVO) in 2023. This research also pointed to the fact that volunteers also reported that the activity broadened life experience. There are also reports of improved mental health and wellbeing, enhanced self-confidence, a reduction of a sense of isolation and improved physical health.
Given these reports from those who are already volunteering, it is puzzling that the UK Government Community Life Survey reports that the numbers of volunteers across the UK are at an all-time low – 16% of the population currently, as against 23% in the previous (pre-Covid) survey in 2019. This pattern is borne out in our town, and there are organisations (such as the Bircham Centre) that desperately need to recruit new volunteers.
The Community Life Survey has tried to unpack some of the obstacles and barriers that deter new volunteers. Foremost seems to be the ‘Lock-Down’ effect; during the pandemic lock downs five years ago, volunteering dropped off people’s citizenship radar and has just not returned to its previous levels.
Other suggestions for non-volunteering point towards people fearing they will have too many demands made on their time, or that they do not have the skills and qualities needed to be useful.
The new Chair of the Bircham Centre Trustee Board, Tina Pashley, met this obstacle head on during the evening when she asserted that flexible volunteering opportunities mean that you can give as little or as much time as you want. ‘A bigger pool of volunteers means there’s less for everyone to do and more can be achieved!’ she said.
Key speaker and Bircham Vice Chair, Ian Kenvyn, pointed out, ‘We see the same wonderful people volunteering in multiple ways, but as a population we’re aging. It’s vital to bring on a new generation of volunteers – otherwise we are sleepwalking into a future with no volunteers to keep this thriving community alive.’
The overwhelming message from the event was that volunteering a little or a lot is a mutually beneficial activity that makes this Reepham the warm, welcoming community that it is.
If you want to know more about what the community needs help with, the Bircham Centre can be your first point of contact. Who can resist the chance to be a Cake Angel, a Bun Fairy or a Garden Womble (or even a Trustee)?
