As well as celebrating National Volunteers Week, Katie Fletcher, Newlife’s Volunteer Recruitment and Support Officer, talks about her role – and why Newlife is such a great place to volunteer!

Katie is always on hand to support our existing volunteers and help new ones settle in properly and ensures that everyone feels that their time volunteering with Newlife is a meaningful and fulfilling experience.

Katie said: “I work across the organisation and have the pleasure of working with a mixture of different departments at Newlife including retail, warehouse, communications, the Opportunity Centre and fundraising in order to provide new opportunities to volunteers within local communities.

“The volunteer team is a fantastic team to be part of, I enjoy knowing that there will be variety in each day that I come to work. I work out in the community and across the organisation meeting people from all different backgrounds and walks of life and will never fail to be amazed by the unique and individual reasons that motivate people to volunteer.

“There are a range of benefits to volunteering, and these can be anything from wanting to learn new skills, looking for experience, improving mental health and wellbeing, feeling like part of a community, improving social and communication skills, supporting with mobility and long-term health issues – the list is endless, and each individual has their own reasons and motivations for volunteering. I think it’s really important to understand each individual’s reasons and motivations so that we can tailor their volunteering experience and give them an opportunity that fits in with what they personally want to take away from their time volunteering with us.

“I also work closely with the volunteers in our organisation and enjoy seeing their personal growth and development while with us. Watching someone become comfortable as part of the team and seeing their confidence start to shine through will always be a personal highlight of the week for me.

“I think that anyone who offers the gift of time to volunteer to any worthy cause is special, especially with the busy lives we all lead today! The fact that we have so many dedicated volunteers who have supported us for so many years and we continue to gain interest, makes me so proud to be part of the volunteer team here at Newlife and makes me all the more enthusiastic to ensure that the experience that we provide to volunteers is representative of the amazing work that goes on around the charity.

“My take-away from each day is that people really are incredible, and I see that in the work that I do here at Newlife. No matter how big or small, we play a really important role in providing vital services to the families and children that the charity supports and that is definitely something to feel good about.”

If you would like to join Katie and the Newlife volunteers, just email volunteer@newlifecharity.co.uk